Tuesday 1 October 2019

Kevin Carmichael taking economic growth seriously?

Kevin Carmichael: While he does have a policy idea that would actually make a difference, Jason Kenney isn't running for PM just yet

Finally someone campaigning to become prime minister has proposed to do something that might actually change the trajectory of the economy.

Alas, that someone is Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, who only secured his current job five months ago, and won’t be pursuing the position that every pundit says he really wants until 2024 at the earliest.

Whatever his aspirations, Kenney is the only national political figure who has used the federal election campaign to show an interest in doing something about crippling productivity rates. His pledge on the weekend to drop some inter-provincial trade barriers in order to create momentum for talks on making Canada a proper single market could be a game changer. It also comes with a note of seriousness that so many previous commitments lacked.

Here’s the prize: The International Monetary Fund said earlier this year that freer internal trade would increase per capita gross domestic product by about four per cent. It was an astonishing finding, given several studies predict the new North American trade agreement will have essentially no effect on GDP. It makes you wonder what could happen if the country’s business, political and media elite united in excitement over a Royal Rumble within the federation the way they obsessed over last year’s confrontation between Team Trudeau and the Trump administration.

Read full story @ https://business.financialpost.com/news/election-2019/want-to-know-who-is-taking-long-term-economic-growth-seriously-hint-he-doesnt-lead-a-national-party

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