Mark Carney speaks during his Liberal leader campaign launch in Edmonton, on Jan. 16.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press

In his farewell speech as Bank of Canada governor, in 2013, Mark Carney cast an admiring eye on the country he was leaving to take on the more challenging task of running Britain’s central bank.

The title of his address – “Canada Works” – said it all.

It was no coincidence that this country had come through the global financial crisis in better shape than other G7 countries, the departing central bank chief said then. Because Canada had pursued responsible fiscal policy, sound monetary policy and prudent financial regulations before the crisis hit, it was better able to withstand the storm.

The basic architecture of our economy – with a floating exchange rate, free trade, strong labour mobility and robust federal fiscal transfers to individuals and poorer provinces – buffered the impact of the 2009 recession and enabled Canada to rebound more quickly than the United States and Europe. This despite a Canadian loonie that hovered around parity with the U.S. currency, as Alberta’s oil boom drove investment in Western Canada, leading to grousing from central Canadian manufacturers about the “Dutch disease.”

“As painful as our recession was, Canada suffered less,” Mr. Carney said.........

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