‘What’s (Freeland’s) message to people who are hungry and homeless after nine years of her government?’ asked Poilievre. ‘That they just need to get with her vibe?’
“People have been talking about a ‘vibecession’… and the fact that Canadians just aren’t feeling that good,” Freeland told reporters at a press conference in Ottawa to promote the temporary sales-tax reprieve. “That’s shaping their economic behaviour in ways that are not great for the Canadian economy.”
“One of the positive impacts of this measure is to help Canadians get past that ‘vibecession’ because how (they) feel really does have a(n) economic impact.”
Opposition Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in question period that he took exception to Freeland’s use of the term “vibecession” given that millions of Canadians are still struggling to feed and house themselves amidst an ongoing cost of living crisis.
“What’s (Freeland’s) message to people who are hungry and homeless after nine years of her government?” said Poilievre. “That they just need to get with her vibe?”
The Statistics Canada report found that Canadian households in this income range lost ground in the second quarter of 2024, versus one year earlier.
“Middle-income households’ investment gains did not keep pace with growth in interest paid on mortgages and consumer credit,” it said.
Tyler Meredith, an ex-fiscal advisor to Freeland and her predecessor at the finance portfolio Bill Morneau, said that, while he wouldn’t use the word “vibecession” himself, there’s still a disconnect between people’s pocketbooks and macroeconomic forecasts.
“The macro looks good but the micro does not,” Meredith said. “People make spending decisions based on the micro.”
He added that he didn’t see the Trudeau government’s stimulus package changing the Bank of Canada’s approach to cutting interest rates going forward.
“$6 billion in stimulus in a $3 trillion economy isn’t really cause to fundamentally rethink things from the Bank’s perspective,” said Meredith.
National Post
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