Canada’s economy shrinks for fifth straight month

Since the govt won't do anything, I guess Poloz will be heading into negative interest rate territory. That'll fix it.

When the US raises interest rates in the coming weeks, that'll 'fix' us for sure.

I know what Canada should do! Raise the minimum wage and raise taxes on the rich! That'll fix everything, right, Andy?

Truthfully I think we should have raised the interest rates. We aren't growing because no one is making any money on their investments. If the interest rates were higher people would be making money on the money they lent.

Yes, a hike would hurt. But this recession has basically dragged on since 2008. The formula from 1997-2005 worked. Lets replicate those conditions and get shit back on track.

I said before that at that time I wasn't prepared to condemn the Conservatives over their track record managing the economy. I am now. They had opportunities to pick things up and not only did they blow it, they drove us straight back into another painful recession.

Low interest rates is meant to encourage money to be invested in equities rather than fixed income GIC and lending instruments and obviously to encourage business (most importantly) and consumer borrowing. Hiking the rates will encourage saving on safer investments, though with rates so low it should be an easy argument to invest in the market regardless. Maybe too many Canadians are strapped for discretionary income?

Canada is in trouble long-term because we have chosen to remain stagnant, uncreative and reliant on the American economy to be the driver. We offer these more ambitious economies natural resources instead of competing ourselves and using these resources. Not a recipe for success in 2015.

Furthermore, we are borrowing money in places like Ontario and Quebec to pay for the excessive and high cost of administrating government activities. You might have seen that $600,000 (and counting) payday for the Durham cop who was suspended, just part of a vast black hole where taxpayers money is thrown away rather than encouraging innovation, competition and taking business from global competitors. We are in fact, more Communist in many respects in some jurisdictions than countries we call communists. I would be quite surprised if such excessive and blatant disregard for taxpayers money is flaunted elsewhere with little pushback. Check out the average salary of a cop in Ontario for instance (and their seemingly bias for supporting the Liberals who feed them) against ANY jurisdiction in the world. Is this healthy? Will it create social and economic problems?

With China stagnating and the U.S soon to open up their markets to Asia and having already opened up with Cuba after decades of an embargo, Canada is in a very bad spot. Again, I'm The Messenger, fire away! Why anyone is surprised of our failures now and as they will be in the future is beyond me. You can't be a one trick pony in a globalized economy.

Have a great weekend!

And how exactly did the Conservatives "blow it"?

They can't raise interest rates. There are just too many people who overpaid for their homes and are house poor, especially in Vancouver and Toronto. A small hike in interest rates will put too many behind the 8 ball and could trigger a collapse in the housing market.

Too many people buying too much house for too much borrowed money.

But when the US fed will raise rates, either we do the same,
or the dollar will drop even further into the toilet.

It's going to be tough no matter which way things go.

And how exactly did the Conservatives "blow it"?


We could have had higher interest rates a few years ago to calm down the housing market,
instead of running it over a cliff like now.

I gave up anyone actually diversifying the Canadian economy years ago,
and I remain unsurprised.

Too many people buying too much house for too much borrowed money.

Sadly, you can't really blame them. Banks have utterly destroyed much incentive to try and save anything for retirement. Bonds and GICs etc are crap anymore. Even the stock market isn't as user friendly as it used to be. Anyone could make money from it just by putting some serious thought into what they were going to invest in.
Today the average person is basically speculating on the real estate bubble, hoping to get the house paid off in time to retire on its equity because outside of some luck and/or real financial know-how, it's their only shot at a retirement savings. Not because they're morons or anything but because there are fewer and fewer ways for someone to put their money to work for them.

I read somewhere a while back that Canadians used to save around 20% of their money;
now it's down to -3% or something.



I guess no one remembers the 80's.

Or this time it will be different.

Or houses just keep going up !

What was the AB one, please God, give me one more boom, I promise not piss it all away next time ?


But it is true than financial illiteracy in Canada is just shocking, and it's obvious
that nothing has been done about it since I was in high school.

Let the dollar drop and keep the interest rates low. What we need to do is start building and buying Canadian. This country has population mass and the resources, technical and intellectual, to be way more self reliant than we have let ourselves slump into. Ontario will be the hardest hit because they have, not unlike Alberta, allowed their economy to become overly dependent on their U.S. connections. As Deming said: the true strength of any economy is what it physically produces…
The other anchor we have to drop is expectations: a welder that will sit unemployed unless they get $47 / hr is hurtful to themselves and the country. So is the middle class coddled child who won’t take a starter job at McDonalds because it interferes with their recreation time.
The wave hasn't crashed, its just reached shore. Time to start paddling back out to deeper water and catch the next one. While we’re at it, lets build a better board and not buy a second hand one from someone else.