I think you're right. We have seen.... The recovery so far, if I can call it a “recovery”, or the period during which measures of output have gone back toward normal, has outpaced all of the forecasts that were laid out last year, in fact all the way up until Christmas, and not just in Canada. It's everywhere. The resilience that I've referred to has been seen in many countries.
As I said in my opening remarks, I believe it has to do with our normal understanding of how recessions work. We think of them as being widespread across the entire economy instead of in certain pockets. In these cases, those things have been shut down. I feel very bad for those people. It's awful. Their businesses are at risk. Their jobs are at risk. But it has stayed in those sectors. It has not spread across the whole economy. Therefore, the recovery goes in a completely different way than normal.
Given that, I'm quite optimistic that once vaccination become more widespread and we are back on firm footing, we're going to see some of the savings that have been made during the pandemic unleashed. I don't think we're going to have the roaring twenties—I think people are going to be fairly conservative—but there's going to be a savings-led mini-boom, at least, by the consumer. I think we're going to see a continuation of growth from there. I think what has to happen next is that the growth leaders have to switch back to investment and exporting, and that's exactly what I would expect to see.
So I can't be anything but optimistic over the next couple of years. I think the right ingredients are present.