Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Defensive Following Release of Numbers
It's official - Canada entered a recession during the second quarter of 2015. Earlier today, Statistics Canada confirmed what many people were predicting - the drop in commodity prices had dragged the Canadian economy into a recession. According to Statistics Canada, the Canadian economy shrunk by 0.8% in Q1 and by 0.5% in Q2, which means that the country is now technically in a recession.
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is currently campaigning to win re-election in October, was on the defensive on Tuesday following the release of the numbers. According to Harper, 80% of the Canadian economy continues to grow and the "technical recession" was due to the recent plunge in commodities prices.
Harper's opponents, however, seized on the news, pointing out that Canada has now had two recessions since Harper took power. Harper is claiming to be the best steward for the Canadian economy, they say, but the numbers just don't support that theory.
Harper is currently sitting in third place in most polls and is in the fight of his political life. Will this latest data release doom Harper's re-election hopes? We'll see.
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Resource rich Canada has taken it on the chin thanks to the plunge in commodities prices - there is no doubt about that. Harper's detractors, however, will make the case that Harper should have diversified Canada's economy so it isn't so dependent on oil prices.
Canada is currently the only G7 economy that is in a recession.
Filed under: General Knowledge
