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Economy

Trudeau’s Economic Mismanagement Exposed: GDP Report Reveals Alarming Decline in Canadian Prosperity

Published

7 months ago

9 minute read

The Opposition with Dan Knight
Dan Knight

The latest “Gross Domestic Product, Income, and Expenditure: Third Quarter 2024” report highlights six consecutive declines in GDP per capita & collapsing business investment

Good evening my fellow Canadians, and welcome to the final chapter of Canada as a thriving economy, brought to you courtesy of Justin Trudeau. The latest GDP report isn’t just a spreadsheet of bad news—it’s a grim look at the devastation Trudeau has unleashed on Canada’s economy.

Here’s what they won’t tell you: while Trudeau prances around on the world stage, preaching about climate change and “equity,” the average Canadian is getting poorer. GDP per capita—one of the most telling measures of prosperity—has now declined for six consecutive quarters, hitting levels not seen since 2017. Let that sink in. Under Trudeau’s leadership, Canadians are worse off today than they were seven years ago.

Canada’s GDP Growth: A Sluggish Economy Falling Behind

The latest figures from Statistics Canada’s Gross Domestic Product, Income, and Expenditure: Third Quarter 2024 report show an economy struggling to find its footing. Real GDP grew by 0.3% in Q3 2024, a slowdown from the 0.5% growth in the first and second quarters of the year. On an annual basis, GDP growth for 2023 was a modest 1.1%, further highlighting Canada’s weak economic momentum.

In real terms, Canada’s GDP as of Q3 2024 stands at $2,419,572 million (chained 2017 dollars). While the economy continues to expand, this growth pales in comparison to the nation’s surging population.

GDP Per Capita Declines: A Warning Sign for Canadians

Canada’s economic growth is not keeping pace with its rapid population expansion. In Q3 2024, GDP per capita—arguably the most important measure of economic health—declined by 0.4%, marking the sixth consecutive quarterly drop. With a staggering 3.2% population growth in 2023, Canada’s economy cannot sustain the same level of prosperity for its citizens.

Current GDP per capita is estimated at ~$54,000, down from its pre-pandemic high of ~$58,100 in 2017, and 2.5% below 2019 levels. To return to its long-term trend, GDP per capita would need to grow at an ambitious 1.7% annually for the next decade, a rate well above the recent average of just 1.1% per year since 1981.

Historical Context: Long-Term Prosperity Eroded

The report shows a troubling trajectory in inflation-adjusted GDP per capita over decades:

  • 1981: ~$36,900
  • 2017: ~$58,100
  • 2024: ~$54,000 (estimated due to consecutive declines).

Despite Canada’s resource wealth and economic potential, GDP per capita remains 7% below its historical growth trend, signaling systemic productivity and investment issues.

Key Drivers of GDP Growth in Q3 2024

The Q3 2024 report highlights the components influencing GDP growth:

  • Household Spending: +0.9%
  • Government Spending: +1.1%
  • Business Investment in Machinery and Equipment: -7.8%
  • Exports: -0.3%
  • Imports: -0.1%

While household and government expenditures provided some lift, the steep decline in business investment—down nearly 8%—and weaker exports reveal structural weaknesses in Canada’s economic model.

A Warning for the Future

These numbers tell a grim story: Canada’s economic growth, when adjusted for its population explosion, is failing to provide real benefits to its citizens. GDP per capita declines, stagnant productivity, and plummeting business investment highlight the challenges ahead. Without dramatic improvements in productivity, competitiveness, and fiscal policy, Canada’s long-term economic prospects remain precarious.

Trudeau’s Population Bomb

In 2023, Canada’s population grew by a jaw-dropping 3.2%, adding over 1.27 million people—the size of Calgary—in just one year. Trudeau’s open-door immigration policy is out of control. But here’s the kicker: the economy isn’t keeping up. GDP growth is crawling at 0.3%, while GDP per capita—the number that actually reflects living standards—has fallen 2.5% below pre-pandemic levels.

What does this mean? Trudeau is creating a country where there are more people, but less wealth to go around. He’s importing voters for his political base while ignoring the basic economics of supply and demand. More people mean more pressure on housing, healthcare, and infrastructure—all of which are already in crisis. Trudeau gets the photo ops, and Canadians get poorer.

Productivity? What’s That?

Here’s the real scandal: Canada’s productivity is collapsing, and Trudeau couldn’t care less. Business investment in machinery and equipment—a cornerstone of economic growth—dropped 7.8% in Q3 2024. That’s not a blip. It’s part of a long-term trend.

Under Trudeau, Canada has become hostile to business. With punishing taxes, endless red tape, and policies designed to appease radical activists, companies have stopped investing. They’re pulling back because they see no future in a country run by a trust-fund prime minister who treats the economy like his personal virtue-signaling playground.

Exports Collapse, Government Spending Soars

Exports fell 0.3% this quarter, after a 1.4% drop the quarter before. That’s Canada losing its competitive edge, plain and simple. While Trudeau waxes poetic about “green transitions,” other countries are eating Canada’s lunch.

Meanwhile, Trudeau’s solution to every problem is predictable: throw money at it. Government spending rose 1.1% in Q3 2024, marking the third consecutive quarterly increase. But this isn’t investment—it’s waste. It’s billions spent on flashy programs that do nothing to address Canada’s fundamental economic problems.

The OECD Warning Trudeau Ignores

Here’s a fact Trudeau won’t tweet about: The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) projects that Canada will have the lowest GDP per capita growth of all member countries through 2060. That’s Trudeau’s legacy: turning Canada into the slowest-growing economy in the developed world.

This isn’t just incompetence—it’s deliberate. Trudeau’s agenda isn’t about making Canada prosperous; it’s about centralizing power. His policies crush the middle class, drive businesses out, and create dependence on government handouts.

The Final Verdict

Justin Trudeau has managed to take one of the most resource-rich, opportunity-filled countries in the world and drive it into economic stagnation. He’s turned Canada into a welfare state for the many and a playground for the elite. GDP per capita is falling, productivity is collapsing, and the future looks bleak for ordinary Canadians.

Let’s be clear: Trudeau doesn’t care. As long as he’s jet-setting to global conferences, virtue-signaling about climate justice, and securing his legacy as the darling of the global elite, the suffering of everyday Canadians is irrelevant to him.

Canada deserves better. It deserves leadership that values hard work, economic freedom, and the dignity of a prosperous nation. And until Trudeau is gone, don’t expect any of that.

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Most Canadians say retaliatory tariffs on American goods contribute to raising the price of essential goods at home

Published on July 12, 2025

By

  • 77 per cent say Canada’s tariffs on U.S. products increase the price of consumer goods
  • 72 per cent say that their current tax bill hurts their standard of living

A new MEI-Ipsos poll published this morning reveals a clear disconnect between Ottawa’s high-tax, high-spending approach and Canadians’ level of satisfaction.

“Canadians are not on board with Ottawa’s fiscal path,” says Samantha Dagres, communications manager at the MEI. “From housing to trade policy, Canadians feel they’re being squeezed by a government that is increasingly an impediment to their standard of living.”

More than half of Canadians (54 per cent) say Ottawa is spending too much, while only six per cent think it is spending too little.

A majority (54 per cent) also do not believe federal dollars are being effectively allocated to address Canada’s most important issues, and a similar proportion (55 per cent) are dissatisfied with the transparency and accountability in the government’s spending practices.

As for their own tax bills, Canadians are equally skeptical. Two-thirds (67 per cent) say they pay too much income tax, and about half say they do not receive good value in return.

Provincial governments fared even worse. A majority of Canadians say they receive poor value for the taxes they pay provincially. In Quebec, nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of respondents say they are not getting their money’s worth from the provincial government.

Not coincidentally, Quebecers face the highest marginal tax rates in North America.

On the question of Canada’s response to the U.S. trade dispute, nearly eight in 10 Canadians (77 per cent) agree that Ottawa’s retaliatory tariffs on American products are driving up the cost of everyday goods.

“Canadians understand that tariffs are just another form of taxation, and that they are the ones footing the bill for any political posturing,” adds Ms. Dagres. “Ottawa should favour unilateral tariff reduction and increased trade with other nations, as opposed to retaliatory tariffs that heap more costs onto Canadian consumers and businesses.”

On the issue of housing, 74 per cent of respondents believe that taxes on new construction contribute directly to unaffordability.

All of this dissatisfaction culminates in 72 per cent of Canadians saying their overall tax burden is reducing their standard of living.

“Taxpayers are not just ATMs for government – and if they are going to pay such exorbitant taxes, you’d think the least they could expect is good service in return,” says Ms. Dagres. “Canadians are increasingly distrustful of a government that believes every problem can be solved with higher taxes.”

A sample of 1,020 Canadians 18 years of age and older was polled between June 17 and 23, 2025. The results are accurate to within ± 3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The results of the MEI-Ipsos poll are available here.

* * *

The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policymakers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.

 

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Business

Trump confirms 35% tariff on Canada, warns more could come

Published on July 11, 2025

By

MXM logo MxM News

Quick Hit:

President Trump on Thursday confirmed a sweeping new 35% tariff on Canadian imports starting August 1, citing Canada’s failure to curb fentanyl trafficking and retaliatory trade actions.

Key Details:

  • In a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump said the new 35% levy is in response to Canada’s “financial retaliation” and its inability to stop fentanyl from reaching the U.S.
  • Trump emphasized that Canadian businesses that relocate manufacturing to the U.S. will be exempt and promised expedited approvals for such moves.
  • The administration has already notified 23 countries of impending tariffs following the expiration of a 90-day negotiation window under Trump’s “Liberation Day” trade policy.

Diving Deeper:

President Trump escalated his tariff strategy on Thursday, formally announcing a 35% duty on all Canadian imports effective August 1. The move follows what Trump described as a breakdown in trade cooperation and a failure by Canada to address its role in the U.S. fentanyl crisis.

“It is a Great Honor for me to send you this letter in that it demonstrates the strength and commitment of our Trading Relationship,” Trump wrote to Prime Minister Mark Carney. He added that the tariff response comes after Canada “financially retaliated” against the U.S. rather than working to resolve the flow of fentanyl across the northern border.

Trump’s letter made clear the tariff will apply broadly, separate from any existing sector-specific levies, and included a warning that “goods transshipped to evade this higher Tariff will be subject to that higher Tariff.” The president also hinted that further retaliation from Canada could push rates even higher.

However, Trump left the door open for possible revisions. “If Canada works with me to stop the flow of Fentanyl, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter,” he said, adding that tariffs “may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship.”

Canadian companies that move operations to the U.S. would be exempt, Trump said, noting his administration “will do everything possible to get approvals quickly, professionally, and routinely — In other words, in a matter of weeks.”

The U.S. traded over $762 billion in goods with Canada in 2024, with a trade deficit of $63.3 billion, a figure Trump called a “major threat” to both the economy and national security.

Speaking with NBC News on Thursday, Trump suggested even broader tariff hikes are coming, floating the idea of a 15% or 20% blanket rate on all imports. “We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay,” he told Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker, adding that “the tariffs have been very well-received” and noting that the stock market had hit new highs that day.

The Canadian announcement is part of a broader global tariff rollout. In recent days, Trump has notified at least 23 countries of new levies and revealed a separate 50% tariff on copper imports.

“Not everybody has to get a letter,” Trump said when asked if other leaders would be formally notified. “You know that. We’re just setting our tariffs.”

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