Canada's Economy Under Carney: Stagnation and Decline

When Mark Carney took office as prime minister one year ago, his promise was to improve the economy. However, Canada's economic vital signs are either stagnant or in decline.

The Canadian economy has experienced high unemployment under Carney's tenure. In February, Statistics Canada released figures showing a loss of 84,000 jobs, making it the worst job loss since the COVID era. The overall unemployment rate now stands at 6.7 percent, second only to France.

Carney claimed that 80,000 'net' jobs had been created under his tenure and noted that the unemployment rate was lower than when he took office. However, Statistics Canada referred to the new rate as 'virtually unchanged from 12 months earlier.' Carney's entire premiership has seen high unemployment rates, with every month since 2016 seeing higher numbers.

Private sector employment has also declined under Carney's leadership, with a decrease in non-government jobs. The raw number of private sector jobs went down from 13.49 million to 13.48 million, and youth workers have been hit hardest, with a youth unemployment rate of 14.1 percent.

Productivity remains stagnant in Canada, which is concerning given the U.S. has seen significant growth in this area.