This period is marked by accelerated growth in all aspects of the digital economy.2 These are important reasons why both demand and supply—and thus GDP—recovered so quickly. The forcefulness of our economic policy response also helped us avoid many of the negative effects on demand that we had been concerned about.
The scale of fiscal transfers meant that the disposable income of Canadian households actually increased during the pandemic and business bankruptcies declined—both unheard of during a recession. Households were able to increase savings and pay down non-mortgage debts. And the financial system, far from being a source of drag on the economy, became a sturdy support.