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Navigating the downturn in the Canadian economy

The price of oil has plunged, the dollar's down but last month the Prime Minister was offering reassuring words that the economy will be okay. But should it change some of our economic plans? Or should the government keep its hands off? Today, we debate how to navigate slower economic growth.
CBC News ·
A for sale sign sits in front of a row of blurred out homes.
Home sales in Calgary dropped to a five-year low last month in the wake of the dramatic slide in oil prices, the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) says. (Sheryl Nadler/CBC)
The Current27:30Navigating the downturn in the Canadian economy - Feb 10, 2015

Well, it can't have come as much of a surprise yesterday when the Conference Board of Canada downgraded its forecast for the country's economic growth this year -- from an already anemic 2.4% projection, to a downright dreary 1.9%.

Because the signs are all already there -- Oil prices have fallen off a cliff. The dollar is scraping a five year-low. And the Bank of Canada has stepped in by cutting its prime rate, in a surprise effort to jump start the situation.

The anxiety is already palpable in Calgary. For a sense of what Alberta's downturn means for the rest of Canada, we were joined by Pedro Antunes. He is the Deputy Chief Economist with the Conference Board of Canada and he was in Ottawa.

All the signs of slowing growth across the country may not amount to a recession... which will come as welcome news. But, as we've been hearing, "slow growth" seems likely to be the new normal. And that means new strategies may be needed.

For their prescriptions, we were joined by:

  • Armine Yalnizyan, a Senior Economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

  • Finn Poschmann, the Vice President for Policy Analysis at the C.D. Howe Institute.
     

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This segment was produced by The Current's Sujata Berry.

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Rick Mercer on "drastic measures" for Alberta

We've just been talking about slowed economic growth in Canada, and the policy prescriptions to cope with it. Of course, as the home of so much oil production, Alberta has been hit especially hard.

Comedian Rick Mercer has looked into a "drastic" measure that Alberta may have to consider. He enlisted the help of fifth estate co-host Gillian Findlay.

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