Friday, June 2, 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Media
Support Us
Macdonald-Laurier Institute
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy Program
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Online
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video
    • Podcasts
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy Program
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Online
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video
    • Podcasts
No Result
View All Result
Macdonald-Laurier Institute

New governments in Ontario and Quebec drive surprising job growth: MLI Labour Market Report

April 18, 2019
in Commentary, Domestic Policy Program, Economic policy, Labour Market Report, Latest News, Philip Cross, Releases
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A

OTTAWA, ON (April 18, 2019): Canada has been experiencing surprising growth in employment despite a consistently-sluggish economy. And, even though job numbers are looking good, wage growth remains stagnant. What explains these contradictions?

To make sense of all this “noise,” the Macdonald-Laurier Institute has released its Labour Market Report for Q1, 2019. Report author and MLI Munk Senior Fellow Philip Cross says that to understand what’s going on, it important to look at what has changed in Canada over the last few months and how those changes have impacted the private sector.

“There are a number of possible explanations for why job growth has recently exceeded GDP,” writes Cross, arguing that the most convincing explanation is that “firms in Ontario delayed hiring employees in the first half of 2018 until they were certain that the Wynne government would not be re-elected.”

“Since the Progressive Conservatives took power, Ontario has driven job growth in Canada, with employment gains accelerating to 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter and 1.1 percent in the first quarter (see Figure 1). By itself, employment in Ontario accounted for 60 percent of Canada’s surprising first-quarter burst in jobs.”

According to Cross, the same story is true of Quebec, where employment rebounded following the election of a more business-friendly government. The stark and observable pattern of employment growth contrasts most strongly against Alberta, which has seen painfully slow employment growth.

“While it has yet to be seen whether the new Alberta government will be able to encourage the sort of business confidence that has led to hiring sprees in central Canada, it is clear that employers have been responding positively to governments that have not increased their labour bills.”

That said, despite high overall employment in Canada, stagnant labour productivity has become chronic in Canada. Cross argues that the stall in productivity is “symptomatic of the declining competitiveness regularly cited by Canada’s business leaders.” Business investment is 10 percent below its 2014 peak, and exports have remained troublingly weak, perhaps due to a lack of investor confidence in the global economy and Canada’s business climate.

And, although high-employment tends to result in better overall income growth, Canada has been experiencing a virtual absence of real wage growth between 2014 and 2018.

“While employment growth has been slightly higher under the current government than the previous government, the same cannot be said of average incomes overall,” Cross explains.  “During the Harper years, real income grew by an average annual gain of 3.0 percent. By contrast, the Trudeau government has seen by a slower average of just 1.7 percent per year.”

While there could be any number of reasons for this discrepancy, these trends will nonetheless become increasingly scrutinized in the weeks and months leading up to October’s Federal Election. If it persists, the slower wage growth could be a thorn in the government’s side, particularly given the Liberal’s 2015 pledge to focus on improving outcomes for middle-class Canadians. Read the MLI Labour Market Report for Q1, 2019 to find out more.

For more information media are invited to contact:

Brett Byers-Lane
Communications and Digital Media Manager
613-482-8327 x105
brett.byers-lane@macdonaldlaurier.ca

Tags: economic policyeconomyLabour Market ReportPhilip Cross
Previous Post

Time for Ontario lawyers to scrap rule that violates their freedom of expression: Arthur Cockfield in the Hill Times

Next Post

The Propriety of the Wernick Tape and the SNC-Lavalin Scandal

Related Posts

Ukraine must be victorious, for all of our sakes: Balkan Devlen for Inside Policy
Columns

Ukraine’s right to self-defence is self-evident: Chris Alexander in the Globe and Mail

June 2, 2023
Trudeau, Ford to blame for Stellantis shakedown: Aaron Wudrick in the National Post
Columns

Trudeau, Ford to blame for Stellantis shakedown: Aaron Wudrick in the National Post

June 2, 2023
Canada’s inadequate defence research funding is more than just a security risk: Richard Shimooka in the Hub
Columns

Canada’s inadequate defence research funding is more than just a security risk: Richard Shimooka in the Hub

June 1, 2023
Next Post
The Propriety of the Wernick Tape and the SNC-Lavalin Scandal

The Propriety of the Wernick Tape and the SNC-Lavalin Scandal

Newsletter Signup

Follow us on

Macdonald-Laurier Institute

323 Chapel Street, Suite #300
Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 7Z2 Canada

613.482.8327

info@macdonaldlaurier.ca
MLI directory

Support Us

Support the Macdonald-Laurier Institute to help ensure that Canada is one of the best governed countries in the world. Click below to learn more or become a sponsor.

Support Us

  • Inside Policy Magazine
  • Annual Reports
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy Program
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Online
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video
    • Podcasts

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Privacy Preference Center

Consent Management

Necessary

Advertising

Analytics

Other