The majority of Canadians do not believe finance minister Joe Oliver’s assessment of the economy. Specifically they do not believe that the country has avoided recession. A new survey by Forum Research shows that 58 per cent of respondents say we are now in a recession with 29 per cent saying we are not. NDP voters are most likely to use the R word (70 per cent) while Conservatives are less so (37 per cent).

Mr Oliver was upbeat this week when he talked of growth in the economy in the second half of the year and said that GDP figures on July 31 would shine more light on the reality. However in cutting interest rates and giving a less-than-glowing report card for the economy the Bank of Canada does not share his sentiment. The NDP highlighted weakness in the economy in a statement saying that job losses, the likelihood of a federal budget deficit and record household debt including mortgages are all concerning.