Photo: 
AFP
The stain of recession: Canada’s economy

Canada’s statisticians are expected to confirm today that the country suffered a recession in the first half of 2015. With a tight, three-way race for the general election on October 19th well under way, that’s bad news for the governing Conservatives. They maintain with some justification that the main causes of contraction—low oil prices and global economic uncertainty—are beyond their control. But it will boost the left-leaning New Democrats, the current favourites to win the most seats in the 338-strong House of Commons, and the centrist Liberals. Both opposition parties are promising stimulus spending. There are still seven weeks left in the unusually long campaign, and better economic news is expected as non-commodity exporters benefit from the decline in the Canadian dollar (which has tracked the oil price). But it would take something extraordinary to remove the stain of recession from the Conservative brand. Most forecasters predict a feeble recovery.

Sep 1st 2015
Continue reading today's edition
Download the app here. Five stories, six days a week, straight to your iPhone or Android smartphone.
Sign up to our newsletter
Receive Espresso via e-mail. Digital subscribers can sign up for daily delivery of Espresso direct to their inbox.