Good news, Canada! The economy is great, it’s just your ‘vibes’ that are bad

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It seemed like the Liberals had tried just about everything to resuscitate their dwindling support among Canadians, but Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, bless her heart, still managed to find something new: sneering contempt.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Ms. Freeland suggested that there is a disconnect between Canada’s positive economic numbers and how Canadians are actually feeling about their economy, noting that “a lot of economists” have been referring to the phenomenon as a “vibecession.” (I would respectfully ask those economists, on the off chance that they actually exist, to please delete the Finance Minister’s phone number.) Ms. Freeland pointed out that inflation is down and interest rates are down, but since Canadians don’t feel like things are getting better, her government is handing out free money and eliminating the GST on certain items for two months. That is sound fiscal policy if I’ve ever heard it.

If the issue is, in fact, a communications problem – not one where Canadians are still struggling to afford everyday items like gas, groceries and housing – perhaps Ms. Freeland should work harder to get the message out. Has she considered standing outside a discount grocery store wielding a chart comparing Canada’s declining interest rates to other G7 nations over the past 11 months? Or maybe she can go to a food bank wearing a T-shirt that says, “Ask me about Canada’s growing economy!” with an asterisk and imperceptibly fine print at the bottom reading, “But not the role that sudden, massive immigration played in that economic growth.” Maybe she could make a TikTok for young Canadians about how the mortgage they’ll never get, for the house they’ll never be able to afford, will at least come with a lower interest rate.

Ever since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first made the GST-holiday and free-cash announcements last week, the Liberals have struggled to justify measures that, mere months ago, they said would make inflation worse. That’s for very good reason: it’s hard to justify that individuals earning up to $150,000 will get $250 in the mail (regardless of their net household income – couples could theoretically get $500 together), but retirees just scraping by will get nothing (since only those who worked in 2023 and earn less than $150,000 are eligible for the rebate). It’s also hard to justify a policy whereby those living in provinces with HST will save the entire tax, while those in provinces where the GST is separate will save only 5 per cent on select purchases. It’s hard to justify handing out free money when that money is not surplus revenue but borrowed funds, and it’s hard to justify spending $6.3-billion (possibly more, according to economist Trevor Tombe, who suggested the federal government might not have factored in owed compensation to provinces with HST) when it will blow through Ms. Freeland’s self-imposed fiscal anchor.

But perhaps the hardest thing to justify, or explain, is why Ms. Freeland thought it appropriate to tell Canadians who are struggling economically that they are simply wrong: that the economy is good, actually, and that things are improving – it’s merely the vibes that are off. Ms. Freeland would have done less damage to her government’s reputation had she stood up, declared “I’m out of touch,” and exited the room into the backseat of an Escalade. The Democrats’ recent election loss in the U.S. provided a lesson in the perils of diminishing voters’ concerns, and gaslighting them about their circumstances.

Condescension is this government’s kryptonite, and it hasn’t been shy about the contempt it holds for those who have different views or don’t share the same social or economic outlook. Ahead of the by-election in the Toronto riding of St. Paul’s back in June, for example, Ms. Freeland said voters had a choice between the Liberals and the alternative that is “cold, cruel and small.” After the Liberals lost the by-election in the Montreal riding of Verdun, Mr. Trudeau said, “We need people to be more engaged,” implying the problem was not with him or his government, but the voters’ lack of appreciation and understanding for what his government has done for them. That’s why the party launched an ad blitz in the fall highlighting Mr. Trudeau’s achievements as Prime Minister: the issue is not Mr. Trudeau, the issue is people don’t recognize what a great leader he has been.

Nor do they recognize, according to Ms. Freeland, how good Canada’s economy is even though they’re removing cheese from their cart (which has increased in price by about 22 per cent over the past four years) after doing some mental math. And when the vibes are bad, the only fix is billions of dollars in temporary, somewhat arbitrary gifts and discounts. Which leads me to ask: who, exactly, is delusional here?