The election’s economic question
This election is about a lot of things. It’s about trade and tariffs and threats and sovereignty. It’s about anger and disappointment and frustration. But if you zoom out, it’s about the economy.
One thing just about everyone agrees on is that Canada’s economy has fallen behind. The above chart compares Canada’s per capita to its Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) partners growth going back to the final months of the Stephen Harper government in 2015.
Canada’s growth is second-last, ahead of only Luxembourg.
The start date matters here. Remember, the global price of oil fell off a cliff in 2014 and 2015. That clobbered the Canadian economy. It drove down investment and has not yet rebounded.
Amidst that downturn, Liberal government policies made it harder to approve resource projects.
The Conservatives and many industry associations have repeatedly said those policies kept investment low and hindered an economic rebound.
Today, the Liberals have promised to speed up approvals and unleash the Canadian economy as a way of offsetting the damage of a trade war.
The biggest economic question Canadian voters will be asked in this election is which leader — and which party — is best positioned to deliver on that promise.
