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Canada's standard of living falling behind other advanced economies: TD​

A new economic report from TD says Canada is falling behind the standard-of-living curve compared to its peers.

According to the report published last week, Canada has been lagging behind the U.S. and other advanced economies in terms of standard of living performance (or real GDP per capita), despite recent years of “headline growth.”

“Economic growth does not necessarily equate to economic prosperity,” TD economist Marc Ercolao wrote
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In the 10 years before the pandemic, Canada was pretty close to the U.S. in terms of average growth, just over two per cent per year, which hovered above the 1.4 per cent average for all G7 countries, Ercolao says.

Following the turmoil of the pandemic, Canada managed to pull off a strong economic recovery, emerging with one of the fastest growth rates compared to other advanced economies. Ercolao cites the growth of the country’s population as a large contributor to this economic growth.
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I wonder if this economic recovery was in essentially was mortgaged off of Canada's population growth (new debtors), with the rich getting richer (i.e. the Westons), and the rest of the population getting poorer post-pandemic?
According to the report, Canada’s economic output per person (real GDP per capita) has actually been decreasing for many years.

Back in the 1980s, the report points out, Canada was doing better than the average of advanced economies by about US$4,000 per person. Over time, however, the advantage faded, and the U.S. jumped to US$8,000 a person, according to TD.

Ercolao writes that the 2014-15 oil shock led to a worsened economic performance. Canada’s real GDP per capita has grown at a slow rate of only 0.4 per cent on every year, which is much slower than the average of other advanced economies (which has an annual rate of 1.4 per cent).
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The recent increase in population growth to three per cent per year is not the main issue -- especially since the average population growth since 2020 has only been slightly higher than before 2000 (around 1.2 per cent).

The real problem, according to Ercolao, is that GDP growth has been decreasing since the 1980s. This means that low GDP per person is not merely because of the growing population but the slower growth of the economy itself.

The report states that the decline is largely related to productivity.

Regions like Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador, where the economy relies heavily on the exchange of commodities, used to have the highest GDP per person, TD says. Over the past ten years, however, their lead has been challenged. Following the pandemic, only B.C. and P.E.I. have been able to raise their GDP per person levels they had in the years prior to COVID-19, TD reports.

“This underscores that without fundamental changes to our approach to productivity and growth, Canada’s standard-of-living challenges will persist well into the future,” the report says.
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Fundamentally, major Canadian exports have been increasingly flattened to real estate and commodities- with real estate increasingly eating up capital that could have been used for reinvestment/self-improvement. Combined with an-already conservative/oligarchic corporate structure in Canada- is this a lethal economic cocktail?

www.ctvnews.ca

Canada's standard of living falling behind other advanced economies: TD

A new economic report from TD says Canada is falling behind the standard-of-living curve compared to its peers.
www.ctvnews.ca www.ctvnews.ca
 
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@kEiThZ may have thoughts to share on this presser:

1690288540515.png

Government of Canada to hold technical briefing to provide an update on the Strategic Tanker Transport Capability Project - Canada.ca

Senior officials from National Defence, Public Services and Procurement Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada as well as the Royal Canadian Air Force will hold a virtual technical briefing, on the Strategic Tanker Transport Capability Project.
www.canada.ca www.canada.ca
 
Northern Light said:
@kEiThZ may have thoughts to share on this presser:

View attachment 494806

Government of Canada to hold technical briefing to provide an update on the Strategic Tanker Transport Capability Project - Canada.ca

Senior officials from National Defence, Public Services and Procurement Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada as well as the Royal Canadian Air Force will hold a virtual technical briefing, on the Strategic Tanker Transport Capability Project.
www.canada.ca www.canada.ca
Click to expand...
Not very significant. Maybe they'll announce where the tankers will be based and the type name. Credit to the government. This is one procurement that has gone well and they added more frames than the RCAF asked for, allowing for the creation of two squadrons.

I personally disagree with strategic tanking and wish we went straight to unmanned tanking. But I can recognize that this is a lower risk of option.

 
With the cabinet shuffle expected today or tomorrow, a lot of Liberal MPs are stating they won't run for re-election.

As of this morning:

Carolyn Bennett (ON)
Omar Alghabra (ON)
Helena Jaczek (ON)
Joyce Murray (BC)
 
mjl08 said:
With the cabinet shuffle expected today or tomorrow, a lot of Liberal MPs are stating they won't run for re-election.

As of this morning:

Carolyn Bennett (ON)
Omar Alghabra (ON)
Helena Jaczek (ON)
Joyce Murray (BC)
Click to expand...

Guess they've locked in their pensions and are now seen as liabilities. Like Alghabra on the transport portfolio....
 
New Trudeau Cabinet announced:

www.pm.gc.ca

Prime Minister announces changes to the Ministry

Building on the work done since 2015 to invest in Canadians and to strengthen the middle class and those working hard to join it, the team will continue to move forward on housing and putting more money back in families’ pockets. To deliver a better future for everyone, the team will also...
www.pm.gc.ca www.pm.gc.ca

A few tidbits:

- Sean Fraser replaces Ahmed Hussen in housing; Hussen moves to International Development
- Arif Virani (my MP in Parkdale-High Park) is the new Attorney General
- Former Toronto police chief Bill Blair becomes the Minister of National Defence
 
Full list of the new blood here:

1690386091590.png
4

Comprehensive list of those who stayed in cabinet, but moved:

1690386128765.png

1690386155705.png


Those staying put:

1690386185979.png


Finally the 'outs':
1690386231658.png



On the symbolism meter:

Out were: 2 men, 4 women; 5 caucasian, one minority.

In are: 3 men, 4 women; 5 caucasian/hispanic, two minority.

So a fairly even swap out, though there is definitely a generational shift down overall to a younger set of ministers.

*****

Here's what I like to look at closer, what is sometimes referred to as the 'inner cabinet'; the Committee through which everything of consequence must flow:

1690386702922.png


The above is the old (prior to today) version.

None of the names above are out of cabinet.

Be interesting to see if there's any shuffle there.
 
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