Quote:
Originally Posted by chemgear
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opin...country-after/
Canada is no longer one of the richest nations on Earth. Country after country is passing us by
The growth crisis deepens. The latest figures from Statistics Canada confirm that Canada suffered yet another decline in per capita GDP in the fourth quarter of 2023: the fifth decline in the past six quarters, the worst sustained drop in more than 30 years. Per capita GDP, after adjusting for inflation, is now below where it was in the fourth quarter of 2014, nine years ago.
More to the point, the economy is now growing slower than the population, which is why per capita GDP is now falling. And it’s per capita GDP that really counts, as far as living standards are concerned.
And over the next 40 years? You may recall that arresting chart in the 2022 budget, projecting Canada would have the slowest growth in per capita GDP among OECD countries out to 2060.
The picture is particularly distressing when you compare where we are with our nearest neighbour. As of 1981, per capita GDP in Canada was 92 per cent of that of the U.S.; by 2022 it had fallen to just 73 per cent. Drill down into the national data and it looks even worse. The economist Trevor Tombe has shown that Canada’s richest province, Alberta, would rank 14th among U.S. states. The poorest five provinces now rank among the six poorest jurisdictions in North America. Ontario ranks just ahead of Alabama. British Columbia is poorer than Kentucky.
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A lot of this is predictable and is shown in the data, and everyday real life. We are a country that is quickly losing our way as an established G7 nation.
I say this a lot and it's true, Canada really isn't that smart of a country. We do a lot natural resource extraction, some stable banking/insurance/telecom and are blessed to be able to do free trade with the US next door. Take a out a few of those factors or reduce them significantly, and we are a very poor performing nation. We just don't do stuff well.
We have productivity issues, we have competition issues, we have legacy issues, housing issues, immigration issues, issues integrating immigrants into Canada to best use their skills and their knowledge and more.
Lot's of issues but I don't know if we have the political will from anybody to change things. Excellent article and very helpful.