Vroom, Vroom goes the economy

For those of you interested in New Brunswick political trivia, Vroom-Vroom was the nickname of old Tory cabinet minister Jean Gauvin as a result of his penchant for fast cars.

But this blog is not about Jean – although many could be penned about him.

It’s about new motor vehicles sales in Canada. New car/truck sales are widely considered to be a signal of the health of an economy. Consider that Alberta (Canada’s strongest economy) had 5.5 new vehicles sold per 1,000 people in January (remember January is a notoriously bad month for car sales) while New Brunswick was well below the Canadian average at 3.1 cars per 1,000.

But what is a little disturbing is the drop in sales in New Brunswick. In January, there was an 11% drop in new vehicle sales compared to last year. In July 2004, sales were down 19% from the previous year.

Just another sign the Prosperity Plan is working.

New Vehicle Sales
% Change Jan 2005 vs. Jan 2004