Notwithstanding the dubious connection between Whistler’s increased property tax and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau referred to in Pique’s letters last week (Pique, Dec. 22: “Why another tax increase in Whistler?”), the reference to inflation combined with Mr. Poilievre’s constant refrain about the Liberals causing inflation and his rant that Canada is broken, etc., I thought it a reasonable inquiry to look into how Canada is actually faring compared to the rest of the developed world.
Lo and behold, inflation being a worldwide problem, we are virtually tied with the U.S. for the second-lowest inflation in the G7 countries. Germany, Italy, France and the U.K. all have higher rates of inflation. Furthermore, Canada’s Gross Domestic Product per capita is better (higher) than the U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Japan. Only the U.S. is higher.
And then there’s the whine about government debt, when in fact, in terms of debt as a percentage of GDP, only the U.K. and Japan have lower debt.
Hate Trudeau if you must, but it seems to me that when it comes to Canada’s economic health, we should strive to put fact over misinforming hyperbole perpetrated by politically motivated bombast.
Fact-checking is always a worthwhile exercise.
