Article content continued

Still, Canada is coping with its share of First World problems at the moment.

The Bank of Canada reminds us regularly that one of the reasons it’s had to keep interest rates so low is because of our “competitiveness challenges.” We’ve been fretting for nearly a year about the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement. U.S. President Donald Trump’s tax cuts may or may not have induced capital flight. And just last week, we watched Prime Minister Justin Trudeau get in the gutter with Trump, threatening retaliatory tariffs after Canada lost its exemption from U.S. duties on aluminum and steel.

Oh, and there’s the housing market. How could I forget the housing market?

The IMF will have more to say at a later date; the statements its staff produce at the end of their exploratory trips are mostly first impressions. Still, there are interesting observations in the four-page statement. There’s a little good news: the IMF’s observers made a point of saying they are less worried about the housing market, as tighter borrowing rules “finally” appear to be restraining real-estate prices and credit growth.

That could bolster confidence in the short term. But the near future isn’t Canada’s problem. That anxiety is about the longer term, and the IMF says there is reason to worry.“Over the medium-term, weak external competitiveness, sluggish labour productivity growth, and population aging are expected to limit potential growth to about (1.75 per cent), significantly lower than its historical average,” the statement said.