The recent federal election saw the Liberal Party hang on to power with another minority government, but it remains to be seen what the leftward shift seen during the campaign means in terms of policy changes going forward, says Scotiabank’s Chief Economist, Jean-François Perrault. 

While some of the key priorities and policies, such as childcare, are unlikely to change, all eyes will be on how this shift translates into economic management, he said. 

“Are they going to ride this wave or are they going to think about doing things a little bit differently?” he said during the Perspectives podcast.  

“Are they going to have to piggyback on NDP policies more aggressively than they have in the past, or is the NDP going to have more influence over how the Liberal government takes things forward?” 

In the first episode of Perspectives – which widens the lens of the Pandenomics podcast beyond the pandemic’s impacts to include bigger-picture issues and topics – Perrault discusses the Liberal government’s key priorities, including childcare and housing affordability, and the outlook ahead. 

The Canadian economy is expected to see near 5% growth this year, and about 3.5% growth in 2022, Perrault said. 

“Definitely good times, but you know, good times that probably come with a little bit more challenges in terms of being able to capitalize on them than perhaps, would have been the case two, three years ago.”