| By :
Molly Wider
The Canadian economy suffered a downturn with the rest of the world in 2009 during this Great Recession, which saw our country eliminate more than 321,000 jobs and watched consumers struggle to makes ends meet. It seems, however, that the country has been underestimated as it continues to come back stronger than any of the analysts predicted. It has been said that Canada's recovery is beginning to look more and more like a V-shape as we sharply pull out of the recession. First quarter GDP was reforecast a to 4.7% growth, up from the originally predicted 3.7%. In the last two weeks alone, employment, manufacturing, productivity and inflation figures have sent the loonie flying to meet the US dollar at parity, the first time since July 2008. The general consensus amongst economists sees Canada's continual growth well into 2010. Since the beginning of the year, Canadian economic indicators have surpassed expectations as housing starts and auto sales kick off the month of March with higher than expected numbers. Great news from General Motors Canada when they recently announced they were recalling more than 700 laid-off workers in Ontario after they had to shut down most of their North American operations for weeks due to weak demand and the near-collapse of its parent company. However, manufacturing and shipments still remain 20% below their pre-recession peak and many economists feel it's premature for anyone to think that our new Canadian parity will no longer be a concern for manufacturing. Patience would be a virtue in reaching any conclusions on the impact of the Canadian currency as many are still convinced that the Vancouver Olympics had an enormous impact on the continual economic growth that has formed this sharp V-growth we are currently enjoying. After the games, travel services soared 17.9% due to the Olympics with hotel rates spiking. Auto prices were up 3.5% over a 5.9% drop from last year although some economists predict a tightening cycle to begin in July. It is obvious that growth and inflation have more power than any economic optimist would have believed only a few months ago. Canada's housing market is a fair contestant to the playing field of economic growth as the Bank of Canada reassures the market is not in a price bubble, but that homes seem firmly valued with housing starts rising in response. With so many uncertainties in the Canadian economy, the good news is that it does show to be on a steady increase with jobs being filled once again and the housing market remaining level. The signs of improvement are definitely there. Making ends meet and keeping our own finances in a V-shape has been tough for most Canadians. If you are still having difficulties figuring out the next step or would like to consolidate a few loans into one payment, private lending institutions can help. Don't let bad credit stop you from making it good again.
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