The Economy
Canada today is experiencing one of the longest economic expansions in its history. What does the future have in story for our economy? This debate begins with a featured essay by Pierre Fortin, followed by Don Drummond.
Featured Author
A Fortunate Country
by: David Foot
In 2020 annual economic growth in Canada is forecast to drop to an anemic 1%. There is no recession. National economic growth has been declining for more than a decade. There is much hand wringing among the nation's economic elite about this lackluster economic performance, especially since economic growth in the U.S. is expected to be higher. But there should be no surprise. This difference in economic performance reflects, in large part, the higher fertility of Americans twenty years earlier that has resulted in more consumers and workers.
Moreover, despite the continued claims from both business and government of widespread labour shortages, the unemployment rate in Canada remains mired above 5% as older workers and immigrants continue to languish in the changing labour market. It appears that little has been learned from the previous twenty years. Read More...
Past Featured Essays
The curse of Alberta's engery-based "Camelot"
by Roger Gibbins
It should never have come to this. Tomorrow Albertans will go to the polls to vote on leaving Canada, and any doubt as to the outcome was removed last month when the British Columbia legislature resolved to hold a similar referendum within six months. It is likely that Saskatchewan will soon follow suit.
The legal technicalities are straightforward. Back in the late 1990s, when the Quebec sovereignty movement was still alive and well, the Supreme Court and later Parliament through the Clarity Act recognized that the Government of Canada had an obligation to enter into negotiations if there was ”a clear expression of the will of the population of a province on whether the province should cease to be a part of Canada and become an independent state.” Those negotiations could begin as early as next week.
Read Don Drummond's essay, Canada in 2020: Whither the Canadian Economy?, The Toronto Star, July 25
Read Pierre Fortin's essay, The Baby Boomer's Tab, The Toronto Star, July 15
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Background Information
CBC In Depth: The Economy
Canada West Foundation study on The Future of the Albertan Economy
