This impressive lady has set up house on my front porch: a yellow garden spider, or a yellow orb weaver spider. I love the web pattern.

And at least some of the decline in the US share of imports is driven by increased trade with China, and Mexico. 13/

Some observations: we sourced a fair amount from the UK, but now we buy almost nothing. Japan's importance as a source of imports peaked in the mid-1980s, just before consumer electronic production shifted to elsewhere in Asia, and "Japanese" cars started to be produced in North America. 12/

For much of the 20th century, Canada's imports have been overwhelmingly from the US. From about 1925 to 1960, about 70% of all our imports came from the US. It hovered about that mark for much of the post Auto Pact period. 9/

For reference, here are Germany, Russia and Mexico. Despite 30 years of NAFTA, Mexico remains a relatively small market for Canada (mainly autos and auto parts). Russia mainly bought wheat from Canada, but now trade between the two nations is negligible. 8/

The UK was already a much-diminished market for our exports in the early 1960s (the UK took over 30% of our exports as late as 1939), but it became of negligible importance once the Auto Pact came in, and it joined the EEC. 6?

First, something that will come as no surprise.... Canada's dependence of the US as a market for our goods has grown dramatically over the last 60 years. 2/

For reference, the Canada-US gap was smallest in the late-1970s, when the gap was about 10%. But as it turns out, whatever has been happening to real GDP per capita, the gap in median wages has remained more or less stable. 7/

Much has been made that real GDP per capita is either stagnant, or falling, since 2019. Real Median wages, though, have risen by about 1% per annum, which serves as a cautionary tale about using real GDP per capita as a measure of welfare 5/.

As for inflation, oof.... The "cost of living crisis" that we experienced in 2022? Man, that was pretty much every year in my childhood (the 1980s), and child's play compared to the 1970s (you know, Canada's Glory Days). 5/

But to everyone who thinks things were better in the halcyon days of your youth, here are some graphs to remind you that it sucked, economically, compared to today. Here's unemployment: 3/

Oh, look who's setting up a leadership bid. I'm soooo surprised! (Time to take the leap, Mark. The path of progress is paved with the bones of ditherers.) #cdnpoli

Tell me your child is a Toronto suburbanite, without telling me he is a Toronto suburbanite.... Playing traffic jam before school.