It is all an educated guess with a huge pablum-smeared omission

Statistics Canada is responsible for estimating Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) each quarter. GDP is an important figure calculating the total value produced in a country’s economy. It is as boring as cardboard.

The number arrived at is of little use to the average Canadian, but it is used to rate Canada’s debt situation, for instance, or suggest the tone of our national financial health. It is also used by any number of self-serving people and businesses to flagellate away about how much we are falling behind other countries in productivity.

As it turns out, it is mostly an educated guess inside a huge pablum-smeared omission.

The GDP to national debt ratio has long been an important measure of a country’s health. If it is hard to measure your own country, it is well-nigh impossible to measure another country, let alone over 100 countries. The figures are not very accurate. Why would they be? No country wants to air the dirty laundry to the neighbours.

Canada’s ratio is just as much a warm guess as every other country’s, made worse because of the Canada Pension Plan. Are those many billions to be included in the calculation? I have no idea, but everyone else has an opinion about this.

As reported recently, Statistics Canada significantly revised its GDP data for 2022, 2023 and 2024. Turns out Canada’s economy expanded 1.7 per cent more than believed during those three years, making us look much better. It is the national equivalent of losing some pounds on the bathroom scale after tucking in all through Christmas. They don’t add up to much (and won’t stay off either) but you can walk around for a day or........

© Sarnia Observer