Mr. Speaker, Canada's economic performance in recent months has been very encouraging.
Real growth at 6.4 per cent in the second quarter far outstrips the performance of any other G-7 country. Retail sales are up in the third quarter and up 7.8 per cent over last year. Real exports are up 5.6 per cent in the third quarter. This is a record level and the fastest growth since 1983.
Employment is up by 307,000 jobs since January, all full time jobs. Employment growth in recent months has been the most rapid in almost six years. The unemployment rate has fallen from 11.4 per cent in January to 10 per cent in October. Over April to August the deficit is $4.5 billion lower than in the same period in 1993-94.
It is results like these that lead the IMF to project that Canada will have the strongest growth in output and the highest rate of growth in employment in all the G-7 countries in both 1994 and 1995.