The CBC is reporting a story with an update on the government’s Prosperity Plan. I could see this coming a mile away. New Brunswick’s GDP growth has been below the national average for five of the last six years but the government is reporting that the GDP per capita the gap has narrowed from 20.7 percentage points to 25.1. We are using declining population to act like there has been good growth in the GDP. Let’s be clear, the GDP of New Brunswick grew at a slower rate than the national average for five of the last six years. The economy has lagged but if you have a declining population, it may look better to show it on a ‘per capita’ basis.
The exact same logic applies to the employment figures.
In other words, they are saying their Prosperity Plan is working because people are moving out of New Brunswick, lowering the population on which ‘GDP per capita’ and employment is based – making them look actually positive.
How’s that for prosperity?