Diane Francis: Canada in deep economic trouble
Canada remains a chronic underachiever. Our economy contracted by 1.06 per cent quarter-over-quarter in the third quarter, while the United States economy grew by 5.2 per cent. The European Union and Australia also saw modest economic growth.
We may not technically be in a recession yet, but the picture isn’t looking good, according to Bank of Montreal economist Doug Porter.
“Whatever label you slap on this economy, it’s basically not growing, despite the artificial sweetener of rapid population growth,” he told CBC News. “The big picture is that the Canadian economy is struggling to grow, yet managing to just keep its head above recession waters.”
The question is: how does a country with so much potential and a massive resource endowment end up lagging behind its peers? The answer is simple: Canada’s federal government is run by economic neophytes.
On Nov. 21, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland boasted that, “Canada is now a global investment destination of choice … and the IMF projects Canada to likewise see the strongest economic growth in the G7 next year.”
But the most recent IMF projection is that U.S. GDP will increase by 2.1 per cent in 2023, but Canada’s will only grow by 1.3 per cent.
As for being the “investment destination of choice,” the figures show otherwise. Net foreign direct investment (FDI) plummeted throughout much of the Liberals’ first term. According to figures from the World Population Review, last year, the U.S. led the world, with net FDI inflows of $388 billion, followed by China ($180 billion), Singapore ($141 billion), Hong Kong ($121 billion), France ($105 billion), Brazil ($92 billion), Australia ($67 billion) and Canada ($54 billion).
Canada’s economic prospects are not so rosy, either. In
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