Canadians react to recession announcement Special

Ask the average Canadian what they think about Canada officially being in a recession, and they'll shrug their shoulders. Thousands of people were affected by the economic crisis in Canada long before it met the definition of being a recession.

Guelph, ON - Today we woke up to learn that Canada is officially in the grips of a recession. But ask your neighbour what he thinks about this news, and he is bound to just shrug his shoulders. I spoke to Frank who said, "I saw the recession coming a long time ago." Make no mistake about it, Canadians have been reeling from the continuing economic crisis, which has seen hundreds of thousands of jobs lost since 2008. Hardest hit provinces are Ontario, with an unemployment rate of 8.7%, and British Columbia, with an unemployment rate of 7.4%. Ontario recently fell into the category of a "have not province." The goods-producing or manufacturing part of the economy continues to be the hardest hit. The response of the federal government has not been all that Canadians would like to see, particularly in regards to Employment Insurance reform, which seems to have become a platform for political grandstanding. Opinion on the street is that there isn't much that can be done about the recession, although government efforts to save the auto industry won votes from Jerry, who noted that the auto industry is very important to Ontario. But ask people what they think of other government initiatives to alleviate the economic crisis, and they say it's too soon to tell. Folks like Dave tend to think that the Conservative government is doing the best that it can, although there are some contrary opinions. As Jerry said, "It's hard to know what is the right action to take is right now." Guelph's biggest employer has been Linamar, an automotive-based industrial manufacturer. Situated in central Ontario, Guelph is a city with a population of 114,943 and has an unemployment rate of 8% (latest figures available). The recession has not hit everybody in Guelph evenly. While unemployment is one of the most common effects of the recession, people have also been losing money on their investments such as RRSPs and mutual funds. Guelph residents do not hold out much faith that the recession will end as soon as economists have predicted.