Are you kidding? You definitely don't have an effective tax rate of 48%... Here in Quebec (which has the highest tax rate) that would make you higher than 400k a year... (45% at that point) [1]. You most probably meant marginal rate, and probably live in a pretty high cost area, but still 160k shouldn't stop you from being quite wealthy.

I'm closer to 100k, my SO own a business and make very little money. I rent a 2 bedrooms apartments close to Montreal, I order food regularly, own a Volt and I am currently looking at house 30 minutes away from Montreal. It's much cheaper than elsewhere in Canada though,

[1] https://www.rcgt.com/app/uploads/2023/03/individual_taxation...