Tag: economy

Did Canada's central bank governor tell young people to work for free?

listen to ‘Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz: Should out-of-work young people work for free?’ on audioBoom


Yesterday, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz, spoke in Toronto and when Bloomberg’s Greg Quinn reported on his remarks, he zeroed in on some things Poloz said about youth unemployment in Canada. As Quinn reported, “How bad are things in Canada’s job market? Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz says bad enough for young people to consider working for free.”

Today, in Ottawa, Poloz was in front of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance and Liberal MP Scott Brison wanted to pick up on that theme. Listen, above, to their exchange.

How do we measure a politician's job record?

Today on the campaign trail, New Brunswick Liberal Leader Brian Gallant was talking about his job creation plan and hammering the government of incumbent Progressive Conservative Premier David Alward government because it “it lost 3,900 jobs since October 2010, lost, more specifically, 6,500 full-time jobs.”

That phrase “since October 2010” is an important qualifier but, in my view, an odd one as he and anyone else should be measuring the Alward government’s job performance record from September 2010, the month in which Alward was elected premier. In fact, as I point out in this review of the Alward government’s jobs record, the record is even worse if you start from September 2010 rather than October 2010.

So why September and not October? Continue reading How do we measure a politician's job record?

The Alward jobs record: Not good

AlwardHed
The record on job creation for New Brunswick Premier David Alward — fighting for re-election right now — has been rotten. (KRIS SIMS/Sun News Network)

Campaigning with Justin Trudeau on the weekend, New Brunswick Liberal Leader Brian Gallant told reporters, “The plan of David Alward and the Conservatives is not at all concrete. When you look at their record on job creation, since 2010 we’ve lost 3,900 jobs.”

Not true.

It’s actually much worse. The province has lost 4,800 jobs since 2010. (I’m assuming that when Gallant says “since 2010” he means, “since the September 2010 election that Alward won”) Continue reading The Alward jobs record: Not good

Housing Bubble? Bunk!

Is the bursting of a housing bubble in Canada about to blow away the value of your home?
Bunk, says the Conference Board of Canada.
In a report to be released Monday, the Ottawa-based independent think tank says bubble fears are overblown.
That’s an important conclusion not only for homeowners in Canada but also for policy makers in Ottawa. Continue reading Housing Bubble? Bunk!

Jobs and politics: Devastating data for the incumbent in Quebec

For this tweet, CAQ Leader François Legault was cherry-picking one of the worst data points for Quebec in today’s monthly jobs report from Statistics Canada but he had lots to choose from. It was a very bleak report card for the PQ government of Premier Pauline Marois. The highlight? Statistics Canada found that, in the space of one month between January and February this year, 25,500 jobs disappeared in the province.   Continue reading Jobs and politics: Devastating data for the incumbent in Quebec

Trudeau on the economy. Economists on Trudeau

The video here was released today by the Liberal Party of Canada. It’s just over 7 minutes an in it, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau uses charts and figures to present his diagnosis of what’s wrong with Canada’s economy.

Laval University economist Stephen Gordon watched it and had these thoughts: Continue reading Trudeau on the economy. Economists on Trudeau

Flaherty poised to eliminate deficit but what about the $135 billion in new debt he rang up?

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty
TORONTO – Finance Minister Jim Flaherty adjusts his glasses as he talks to the media prior to holding pre-budget consultations with the business community in Toronto last November (REUTERS/Mark Blinch)

Conservatives, if you ask them, believe, above all else, in smaller government. U.S. conservative Grover Norquist once said government should be small enough you could strangle it in a bathtub, a line I’ve heard repeated by Canadian Conservatives.

But often enough, the rhetoric of these conservatives does not match what nominally conservative governments do in office. Case in point: The current Conservative Party of Canada government in Ottawa, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his finance minister Jim Flaherty.

Continue reading Flaherty poised to eliminate deficit but what about the $135 billion in new debt he rang up?

On economic growth, Liberals rank PMs from first to worst


It may not be a fair comparison but Justin Trudeau’s tweet is at least accurate.

The country has had two prime ministers from Calgary and each man’s tenure coincided with the two worst economic recessions of the last century.

Continue reading On economic growth, Liberals rank PMs from first to worst

Harper no longer go-to pick for Canadians concerned about the economy

EAP

Our friends at Abacus Data are out with an interesting poll that takes a look at how Canadians feel about the economy and about the ability of federal political parties to manage current and future economic challenges. Bottom line, as I report in our papers today:

while a significant number of Canadians still believe that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives are best for the economy, many Canadians are just as confident Thomas Mulcair and the NDP or Justin Trudeau and the Liberals could meet any economic challenges.

Continue reading Harper no longer go-to pick for Canadians concerned about the economy