Global Economic Intersection
Advertisement
  • Home
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Investments
    • Invest in Amazon $250
  • Cryptocurrency
    • Best Bitcoin Accounts
    • Bitcoin Robot
      • Quantum AI
      • Bitcoin Era
      • Bitcoin Aussie System
      • Bitcoin Profit
      • Bitcoin Code
      • eKrona Cryptocurrency
      • Bitcoin Up
      • Bitcoin Prime
      • Yuan Pay Group
      • Immediate Profit
      • BitQH
      • Bitcoin Loophole
      • Crypto Boom
      • Bitcoin Treasure
      • Bitcoin Lucro
      • Bitcoin System
      • Oil Profit
      • The News Spy
      • Bitcoin Buyer
      • Bitcoin Inform
      • Immediate Edge
      • Bitcoin Evolution
      • Cryptohopper
      • Ethereum Trader
      • BitQL
      • Quantum Code
      • Bitcoin Revolution
      • British Trade Platform
      • British Bitcoin Profit
    • Bitcoin Reddit
    • Celebrities
      • Dr. Chris Brown Bitcoin
      • Teeka Tiwari Bitcoin
      • Russell Brand Bitcoin
      • Holly Willoughby Bitcoin
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Investments
    • Invest in Amazon $250
  • Cryptocurrency
    • Best Bitcoin Accounts
    • Bitcoin Robot
      • Quantum AI
      • Bitcoin Era
      • Bitcoin Aussie System
      • Bitcoin Profit
      • Bitcoin Code
      • eKrona Cryptocurrency
      • Bitcoin Up
      • Bitcoin Prime
      • Yuan Pay Group
      • Immediate Profit
      • BitQH
      • Bitcoin Loophole
      • Crypto Boom
      • Bitcoin Treasure
      • Bitcoin Lucro
      • Bitcoin System
      • Oil Profit
      • The News Spy
      • Bitcoin Buyer
      • Bitcoin Inform
      • Immediate Edge
      • Bitcoin Evolution
      • Cryptohopper
      • Ethereum Trader
      • BitQL
      • Quantum Code
      • Bitcoin Revolution
      • British Trade Platform
      • British Bitcoin Profit
    • Bitcoin Reddit
    • Celebrities
      • Dr. Chris Brown Bitcoin
      • Teeka Tiwari Bitcoin
      • Russell Brand Bitcoin
      • Holly Willoughby Bitcoin
No Result
View All Result
Global Economic Intersection
No Result
View All Result

Canada’s Economy on a Knife Edge

admin by admin
December 7, 2014
in Uncategorized
0
0
SHARES
1
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

by John West, Asian Century Institute

Discussions led by business leaders at the recent Toronto Global Forum suggest that Canada’s economy is sitting on a knife edge.

Prospects for the world economy are gloomy and fragile, something Canada cannot insulate itself from. Europe’s economy is on the verge of falling back into recession. Growth is slowing in China, Brazil and India. Economic uncertainty is rising due to the feared spread of Ebola, sanctions against Russia, and turmoil in the Middle East.

The US may be a bright spot in the global economy, with steady growth since 2010, but this is its weakest post-war recovery. And as the US normalizes monetary policy after six years of quantitative easing, global financial markets will experience increased volatility.

It was suggested that the conference banner of “rethinking growth” should be re-formulated as “remembering growth“.

These past few years, Canada has been a success story, according to Minister of State for Finance, Kevin Sorenson, thanks to the government’s timely stimulus to minimize the effects of the global financial crisis. Canada has achieved steady growth, with low debt and a good employment record, and has outperformed the G7.

Canada has been an island of stability in an unstable world, said Sorenson. Its middle class incomes are better than America’s. It is also the best place to raise a family.

Despite its success, however, it seems clear that Canada faces many challenges, going forward.

Michael Sabia of the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec made a strong case for infrastructure spending to boost the global economy. There is potential to generate $4-5 trillion dollars annually in global infrastructure spending.

But Canada itself is in desperate need of infrastructure investment to get its natural gas and oil to Asian export markets. Pipeline and other projects are bogged down by opposition from aboriginal and local communities, and environmentalists. A number of accidents have also raised public concerns about safety.

To strengthen the foundations for Canada’s natural resource development, companies need a more constructive engagement with aboriginal communities, civil society and the public said David Collyer of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. He called on the government to foster such dialogue and cooperation.

Canada’s energy futures are also threatened by the boom in US oil and gas production, given its reliance on exports to the US market. US oil production is up 70% from 2008. Canada is also exposed to the recent weakening in global energy prices, given that it is a high cost energy producer. And the availability of cheaper energy in the US is also giving its manufacturing sector an edge.

Small and medium enterprises, the backbone of Canada’s economy, are also behind the curve, according to Pierre Cleroux of the Business Development Bank of Canada. While some 84% of Canadians are online, only 41% of Canada’s SMEs have a website, while a mere 13% do business online.

Canada also lacks an innovation and risk-taking culture, said Jean-Rene Halde of the Business Development Bank of Canada. It is important to feel comfortable with change, rather than the status quo. Canada has many “lifestyle entrepreneurs”, who lack a burning urge to expand to global markets.

Halde argued that Canada needs to boost innovation. Canada has world-class research institutions and provides strong public support to business investment in research and development (R&D). However, the business sector devotes only about 1% of GDP to R&D, compared with 2% in the U.S. and more than 2.5% in Japan, Korea and some of the Nordic countries.

Canada does not invest enough in equipment, technology and training, said Robert Hardt of Siemens. Canada should invest further to improve both quality and access to tertiary education, to maintain the supply of highly skilled workers as the population ages.

Canada has concluded some 38 free trade agreements in recent years, but only one of those has been with Asia (Korea), the fastest growing part of the world economy. The Canadian government also took a long while to ratify an investment agreement with China. And while Canada endeavors to open up to the global economy, it is lumbered with far too many inter-provincial barriers which prevent it from having a single market at home.

Somewhat surprisingly, one important issue not discussed at the Forum was migration. Canada appears to be a migration success story, with its emphasis on skilled migrants, many coming from Asia. Super-rich Indo-Canadian business stand out as emblems of the Canadian migration story, people like Steve Gupta, Surjit Babra, Ramesh Chotai, Vasu Chanchlani, and Barj S. Dhahan.

But overall, Canada’s migration experience is one of wasted talent. Too many skilled migrants are unable to find jobs corresponding to their skills, and are vastly overqualified for the jobs they do secure. Engineers become taxi drivers. Doctors become nurses, etc.

Why? There are a number of reasons. Qualifications may not be recognized in Canada. Or when they are officially recognized, they may not be accepted by potential employers. Sometimes a lack of local experience or insufficient English language capacity may be perceived problems.

One issue in the business sector is the “bamboo ceiling”. Some of the barriers locking out Asian talent in Canadian organizations are: cultural bias and stereotyping; Westernised leadership models; lack of relationship capital; and a lack of understanding of the value of cultural diversity.

Canada’s greatest challenge today may be complacency. It is a country blessed with abundant natural resources. It is very prosperous, with a comfortable standard of living. But Canada’s overall productivity has actually fallen since 2002, while that of the US has grown substantially.

Canada needs to become more productive to sustain its high standard of living. It also needs to do more to develop the manufacturing and services sectors, not just natural resources, if it is to maintain a high level of employment and an equitable distribution of the fruits of growth.

But history shows that while the going is good, countries rarely see any urgency in taking the future seriously. O Canada, it would be a great shame if you fail to grasp the nettle!

Previous Post

Down-Payment Assistence and Counseling is Available for First-Time Home Buyers

Next Post

Insider Trading 05 December 2014: Interesting Insider Purchases In Energy Sector

Related Posts

Gold Versus Bitcoin, Which Is A Better Investment In 2023?
Econ Intersect News

Gold Versus Bitcoin, Which Is A Better Investment In 2023?

by John Wanguba
March 28, 2023
World Bank Cautions Of 'Lost Decade' In Global Growth Without Drastic Policy Shifts
Business

World Bank Cautions Of ‘Lost Decade’ In Global Growth Without Drastic Policy Shifts

by John Wanguba
March 28, 2023
How Is The Banking Crisis Affecting Ripple’s XRP Crypto?
Economics

How Is The Banking Crisis Affecting Ripple’s XRP Crypto?

by John Wanguba
March 28, 2023
Virgin Orbit Extends Employee Furlough, Funding Talks Ongoing – CEO
Business

Virgin Orbit Extends Employee Furlough, Funding Talks Ongoing – CEO

by John Wanguba
March 28, 2023
Lebron James And Several Other Celebs ‘Effectively Wiped Out’ As Fitness App Tonal Loses 90% Value
Business

Lebron James And Several Other Celebs ‘Effectively Wiped Out’ As Fitness App Tonal Loses 90% Value

by John Wanguba
March 28, 2023
Next Post

Insider Trading 05 December 2014: Interesting Insider Purchases In Energy Sector

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Browse by Category

  • Business
  • Econ Intersect News
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tags

adoption altcoins bank banking banks Binance Bitcoin Bitcoin adoption Bitcoin market Bitcoin mining blockchain BTC business China crypto crypto adoption cryptocurrency crypto exchange crypto market crypto regulation decentralized finance DeFi Elon Musk ETH Ethereum Europe FTX inflation investment market analysis Metaverse mining NFT nonfungible tokens oil market price analysis recession regulation Russia stock market technology Tesla the UK the US Twitter

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • August 2010
  • August 2009

Categories

  • Business
  • Econ Intersect News
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Uncategorized
Global Economic Intersection

After nearly 11 years of 24/7/365 operation, Global Economic Intersection co-founders Steven Hansen and John Lounsbury are retiring. The new owner, a global media company in London, is in the process of completing the set-up of Global Economic Intersection files in their system and publishing platform. The official website ownership transfer took place on 24 August.

Categories

  • Business
  • Econ Intersect News
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Uncategorized

Recent Posts

  • Gold Versus Bitcoin, Which Is A Better Investment In 2023?
  • World Bank Cautions Of ‘Lost Decade’ In Global Growth Without Drastic Policy Shifts
  • How Is The Banking Crisis Affecting Ripple’s XRP Crypto?

© Copyright 2021 EconIntersect - Economic news, analysis and opinion.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Bitcoin Robot
    • Bitcoin Profit
    • Bitcoin Code
    • Quantum AI
    • eKrona Cryptocurrency
    • Bitcoin Up
    • Bitcoin Prime
    • Yuan Pay Group
    • Immediate Profit
    • BitIQ
    • Bitcoin Loophole
    • Crypto Boom
    • Bitcoin Era
    • Bitcoin Treasure
    • Bitcoin Lucro
    • Bitcoin System
    • Oil Profit
    • The News Spy
    • British Bitcoin Profit
    • Bitcoin Trader
  • Bitcoin Reddit

© Copyright 2021 EconIntersect - Economic news, analysis and opinion.

en English
ar Arabicbg Bulgarianda Danishnl Dutchen Englishfi Finnishfr Frenchde Germanel Greekit Italianja Japaneselv Latvianno Norwegianpl Polishpt Portuguesero Romanianes Spanishsv Swedish