Canada is going through a recession, but don’t tell Prime Minister Steven Harper that because he wouldn’t believe it. Apparently, Harper, with the wisdom of having spent nine years in office, knows better. He tells Canadians not to worry because things are under control and things are not what they seems. All Canadians have to do is simply re-elect Harper and he is going to steer the ship home. It doesn’t matter if oil prices are taking a battering and the Canadian economy has recorded its second straight negative quarter.
Though a few economists will be arguing that there is a positive narrative like significant job growth, rise in home purchases and huge spending on big-ticket items there is also an alternative narrative in which Canadians are sinking deeper into consumer debt. Borrowing is rife. But the contracting GDP does not lie, which indicates that this recession is Canada’s worst kept secret and it is an inconvenient truth for Harper’s government. Harper may argue that 80 per cent of the economy is functioning, but it is the non-functioning 20 per cent that is hitting economic growth.
