The Conservatives’ fourth accountability report boasts that Canada is leading the G7 out of recession by using an arcane statistic that no economist on the planet uses, with the claim that Canada led the G7 with the highest growth of “domestic demand” over the past 6 months.
The indicator that matters is gross domestic product (GDP), and on that basis Canada was the second worst in the G7 in the most recent quarter and over the past 6 months.
G7 GDP growth rates* compared to previous quarter:
| 2nd quarter 2009 | 3rd quarter 2009 | |
| Japan | 0.7 | 1.2 |
| Germany | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| United Sates | -0.2 | 0.7 |
| Italy | -0.5 | 0.6 |
| France | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Canada | -0.9 | 0.1 |
| United Kingdom | -0.6 | -0.3 |
Source: OECD Quarterly National Accounts
*Statistics Canada, Canada Economic Accounts November 30, 2009
