QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Economic Growth
March 19, 2024
My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.
The Coalition for a Better Future, co-chaired by the Honourable Anne McLellan and the Honourable Lisa Raitt, released a 2024 scorecard report update this month entitled Fragile Growth: An urgent need to get the basics right. In this report, they stressed a need to make economic growth a top policy priority for all. They outlined specific aspirational targets for the country by the end of this decade — 21 metrics in total — that gauge Canada’s competitiveness in some way and provide a running score on whether Canada is on track to reach its full economic potential.
Will Budget 2024 prioritize Canada’s economic growth to address some of the shortcomings that the report identified?
Thank you for your question, senator.
As you will well appreciate, although I cannot comment nor speculate on any of the potential measures that will be included in the upcoming budget, I can say the government will be focused on issues like providing support to build more homes and build them faster, making life more affordable for Canadians and creating good jobs. I will also note that the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, projected that Canada will have the strongest economic growth in the G7, on average, in 2025.
The government plans to continue its work to benefit all Canadians, who deserve a strong, healthy economy for themselves and their families.
Senator Gold, on the critical measures of living standards, output per capita and labour productivity, the report indicates the country is moving in the wrong direction:
Canada’s productivity record has been dismal. We’re experiencing the largest decline in productivity outside of recession since at least the 1950s.
How is the government working to address this serious issue?
Thank you for your question.
It is correct to say that the issue of productivity remains a perennial issue for Canada. There are many issues that contribute and have led to decreased productivity, but the government has launched several programs and provided funding opportunities for both industries and sectors to innovate and increase productivity in Canada. To cite one example, government launched the Global Innovation Clusters, which strengthen Canada’s most important industries, where private sector, academic institutions and others can work together.
