There's been lots of talk lately about the "lost decade" under the Liberal government. It revolves around this chart: Let's dig into it with a quick thread.

First, some caveats/acknowledgements: we *do* have a productivity problem in Canada. We haven't focused enough on growing the economy. The Liberals, in part, have to own that.

But we should be clear: there are significant regional variations here. In BC and Quebec, per capita GDP growth was pretty close to the G7 average. Chart via @Kevin Milligan.

I can hear the usual suspects already: see, this is proof that Trudeau is killing Alberta! Is it, though? Here's the per-capita GDP of North Dakota, another oil-dependent subnational jurisdiction. See how it plateaus in 2015? As it happens, that's when oil prices peaked.

Let's not forget that, even with the runup in prices from 2006-14, Alberta's per capita GDP *barely* grew under the previous Conservative government. Another lost decade? Odd that we never hear about that.

And comparing Canada's economic growth to the United States is a mistake for a bunch of different reasons. First, it's seen more tech sector growth than any other major country on earth -- and tech has been *the* growth engine over the last decade.

Second, the US has been running *massive* fiscal deficits since Trump was first elected. This has an obviously stimulative effect on their economy -- one we can't (and wouldn't want to) replicate.

So yes, let's figure out ways to grow our productivity and increase the size of our economy. But let's also remember that the last two decades show why relying solely oil and gas isn't a great idea. We need a broader economic base -- one where tech can thrive as well.