Having laid back and surfed the wave of easy money during the late great commodities supercycle 2001-2011 (courtesy of the greatest consumer credit/derivatives/China bubble ever in history–now bursting), Canada missed retooling (under the oil-focused Harper government) to a more productive, diversified economy. Now we are paying the economic price and are likely to continue to for some time. It will be no easy or quick fix. But with the overhang of excess capacity, goods and materials still mammoth in the world, and the US dollar in a secular strengthening mode, the next commodities boom is likely many years away. Necessity is the mother of invention. Luckily we really have no choice but to get a lot more efficient and creative from here.
The two-year oil slump has mired Canada in one of the weakest stretches of growth in its history. So there’s some urgency to the search for alternative models. Here is a direct video link.
Consolidating since April, the Canadian dollar may well wobble longer yet, especially as our high debt and vulnerable property markets become a topic of international concern.
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