The long voyage home We begin the story with the Great Recession of 2008–09, which saw Canadian exports fall further than in any recession since the Second World War. Policy-makers everywhere reacted aggressively to the global turmoil. Here in Canada, governments boosted spending, and the Bank of Canada cut interest rates in steps until we reached the effective lower bound.
These moves, combined with a strong financial system, gave Canada one of the best post-crisis experiences among advanced economies. It’s fair to say that households did most of the heavy lifting to keep the economy growing, borrowing to buy houses and cars. We also enjoyed good growth in our energy sector with high oil prices.