It's getting kind of hard to keep up with fact-checking you, Mr. Poilievre.
Your latest post compares Canada to the US since Q4 2022 and at first glance it looks like a disaster. But if you actually look at the math, you’re choosing which hand the audience watches while the other one hides the truth.
The 2022 Trap
You picked Q4 2022 as your starting point for a very specific reason. That was exactly when the Bank of Canada slammed on the brakes with massive interest rate hikes to kill inflation. We were doing the hard work of sobering up. At that same moment, the US was doing the opposite. They were injecting $1.2 trillion in stimulus through the IRA and CHIPS Act. Comparing a country trying to pay its bills to one on a debt-fueled bender isn’t an analysis. It’s a parlor trick.
The Credit Card Growth
The US is "outperforming" because they are spending money they don’t have. It’s like a neighbor who buys a Ferrari on a maxed-out credit card while you’re paying off your mortgage. The US federal deficit is sitting around 6.4% of their GDP. Ours is just 1.25%. Every American is carrying about $106,000 in federal debt, while every Canadian carries about $34,000. If fiscal responsibility is the goal, we aren’t falling behind. We’re the only ones staying solvent.
The "Shrinking" Sleight of Hand
The post screams about a "shrinking economy," but that’s half-true math used to tell a full-scale lie. Canada’s total GDP actually grew 2.6% in Q4 2024, which was one of our strongest runs in years. The "per person" number looks lower because we added over a million people in a year. There is a natural lag between a new neighbor moving in and that neighbor getting a job and contributing to the economy. You can’t demand we cut the workforce and then complain that the workforce isn't growing the "per person" math fast enough. You’re arguing with your own calculator.
The "Anti-Development" Myth
You talk about removing "anti-development laws" and getting "shovels in the ground," but that work is already done. The Impact Assessment Act was rewritten in 2024 to fix the Supreme Court’s concerns. On top of that, the new Major Projects Office has been streamlining approvals with a "One Project, One Review" system for over a year. Promising to fix a regulatory system that was already overhauled in 2025 is like promising to change a tire that’s already brand new.
Fighting Ghosts
You’re still campaigning on "Scrapping the Tax." But here in 2026, the consumer Carbon Tax was set to zero back in April 2025. Any checks people see today are just catch-ups (retroactive payments for the 2021-2024 tax years for those who filed late). Promising to "scrap" it now isn't a plan for the future—it's an attempt to stir up anger over a policy that doesn't even exist anymore. That’s not a policy. It’s a party still fighting last year’s war.
The Bottom Line
Promising to rebuild a G7 economy from scratch in just twelve months is essentially political fiction. If you think you can overhaul the structural foundation of a multi-trillion dollar nation in a single year, you’re not running a government, you’re running a fantasy. Canada is playing the long game. The US is playing the "spend now, pray later" game. We aren't losing the race. We're the only ones running it without a backpack full of debt.
2025-2026 G7 Annualized GDP Growth:
* 🇺🇸 USA: 2.2% (2025) / 2.1% (2026)
* 🇨🇦 Canada: 1.2% (2025) / 1.5% (2026)
* 🇬🇧 UK: 1.3% (2025) / 1.3% (2026)
* 🇫🇷 France: 0.7% (2025) / 0.9% (2026)
* 🇩🇪 Germany: 0.2% (2025) / 0.9% (2026)
Sources:
* IMF World Economic Outlook: G7 Deficit & Debt Projections.
* Statistics Canada: Quarterly GDP Reports (Q4 2024 growth verified at 2.6% annualized).
* U.S. Treasury: Monthly Treasury Statement & National Debt Clock.
* Impact Assessment Agency of Canada: 2024/25 Regulatory Amendments.
* Major Projects Office: National Interest