One reason I took to the idea of running for office in 2015 was Canada’s slumping economic performance. I was attracted to the possibility of applying my business skills and experience to help make a difference in critical problem areas such as our response to climate change, reconciliation with our Indigenous population, and the need for a national child care program. All of these, to one extent or another, could only be fully addressed if we had the funds to invest in them.
On the upside, we accomplished some important things from 2015 to 2020, highlighted by the Canada child benefit, expansion of the Canada Pension Plan and the launch of a national approach to pricing carbon. Despite all we achieved, we didn’t do nearly enough to stimulate economic growth, however. This is not surprising, perhaps, because restoring Canada’s economic performance wasn’t a major plank in our election platform. A talking point, yes. But it needed to be more than that.
As happens so often in political life, the ideas were good but their application proved a challenge. Building and renewing infrastructure demanded a large amount of capital and extended time frames to complete projects, plus provincial and municipal buy-in. On the international front, our strategy to expand trade opportunities with China ran up against hard-nosed geopolitical realities, and implementing other promising initiatives encountered obstacles that couldn’t be easily sidestepped.
The slump is directly related to a downward trend in productivity growth over those years. Out of 36 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development measured from 2000 to 2019, Canada rated in 25th place when it came to productivity growth. Assessing real output per hour worked, we were less than mediocre in comparison with similar OECD nations: 10 per cent lower than the U.K., 22 per cent lower than France and Germany and a giant 27 per cent lower than the U.S.
It is impossible, on a long-term basis, for any society to earn or spend more than the value of whatever they produce, whether goods or services. That’s a basic rule that one doesn’t need an economics degree to understand. All you need to grasp the idea is your experience at balancing your household budget. The key to long-term prosperity is productivity, and the reality of our aging demographics will make it ever more important over the coming years.
It was never difficult to convince business and industry groups of this perspective. Whatever their political tendencies might have been, they all grasped the importance and urgency of getting on with the job of improving Canada’s productivity. Yes, you could argue that self-interest was the motivation.
Just checking in to watch the left eat one of its own.
Is the inaction of the gov. To dictate politics and fixed the situation, i will say lack of knowledge
You are wrong, Canadian businesses have already lost ground way back and it will take a decade to make it if there is a real desire, with current leadershi at federal level, chances are next to zero. Nothing is going to happen till leadership changes.
If the Globe and Mail are reporting this you know things are bad.
Congrats Justin: A good rebounding economy/inflation down/lots of new investments/new businesses opening/more jobs than people to fill them/Oil outputs up/Exports are up/Deficits down/A surplus this year/Voted 1 Country of 2021/22/One of the Freest Country's etc. Copy/Share this
Why invest in a productive business when you can flip houses and be a slumlord?
Didn’t he go after small business and corp tax. I am confused
Don’t worry we have an economic genius at the helm PM Blackface
Yes we now lag Australia. Why? Because unlike Canada they embrace their resource sector & their GDP shows it. Meanwhile we have a spectacularly irresponsible PM who turns his nose at tens of billions of energy investment from our German & Japanese allies because of ideology.
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