During the most intense phase of the Great Recession – a nine-month period beginning in the fall of 2008 – the level of Canadian exports plunged more than 16 per cent, or more than twice the total drop during the previous two cycles. By the end of last year, exports still remained roughly 8 per cent below their pre-recession peak.
My core message today is that this recent performance brings into sharper relief major secular trends that have persisted over the past decade. As such, they will require a sustained response. Canada’s share of world exports has been declining since the turn of the millennium. In fact, our performance has been the second worst in the G-20 (Chart 2).