Education, immigration, trade can lift Canada’s growth prospects: central bank
OTTAWA — A top Bank of Canada official points to three areas that could lift the economy’s future growth prospects and have helped in the past: education, immigration and trade liberalization.
Deputy governor Lawrence Schembri mentioned the potential prescriptions in a speech Wednesday that was focused on exploring and demystifying what he called the “somewhat abstract notion” of potential growth, which provides a reading on what the economy can achieve on a sustainable basis over the long run.
He described it as a vital piece of information for the Bank of Canada as it gauges inflationary pressures and contemplates its interest-rate decisions. However, Schembri also described it as slippery number that can be tricky to pin down, to the point it’s “hypothetical.”
One thing about it is apparent: it has been on the decline.