Trudeau’s ex-finance minister says Canada is misfiring on growth
BNN Bloomberg
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s former finance minister said the governing Liberals aren’t exhibiting any “real sense of urgency” on growth, and warned Canada could pay a big economic price if things don’t change.
Bill Morneau, in his first major speech since leaving office in 2020, argued political incentives in Ottawa on all sides run counter to finding long-term solutions to the nation’s lagging competitiveness. He also acknowledged he was unable to galvanize his own government to address what he called Canada’s fundamental economic problem.
“I struggled to get our government to focus on the need for sustained economic growth, because it was constantly crowded out by other things that seemed more politically urgent, even if they weren’t truly as important,” Morneau said Wednesday evening in a speech to the C.D. Howe Institute, a Toronto-based think tank, according to prepared remarks.
Morneau resigned nearly two years ago after a rift with Trudeau erupted into public view, partly amid policy differences over what the pandemic recovery plan should look like, and how ambitious it should be. The prime minister named Chrystia Freeland in his place.
