Canada’s economic production is $4,200 per person lower than it would be if the country had kept to pre-pandemic trends, the statistics agency reported. Getting back on track will take improvements on a scale not seen since free trade and computing transformed the economy in the 1990s, it said. (The Logic)

Talking point: “Improvements in productivity will require sustained increases in capital spending,” StatCan said bluntly. Lower commodity prices and lessening competition have led to marked drops in those investments since 2015, though rapidly digitizing industries like finance and wholesale trade have bucked that trend; AI, robotics and more widespread digital adoption could help, according to the analysis. Meanwhile, StatCan also reported that retail sales were flat in February and its preliminary estimate for March is much the same—as you might expect if consumers aren’t getting more prosperous.