The “Great Resignation”—the new buzzword referring to a surge in people quitting their jobs—gets no shortage of attention these days. In just the past month alone there were nearly 11,000 news articles mentioning it, according to Google.

Is this attention misplaced? Should Canadians be concerned? 

Let’s look south of the border first. In the United States, over 4 million people each month quit their job—according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s approximately three percent of the entire labour force. That is a notable increase in the U.S. quit rate compared to pre-pandemic rates, which were closer to two percent, and close to double the rates that prevailed a decade ago.

In Canada, however, there is a very different picture. 

It’s unfortunately tricky to easily compare—since our data is not as good—but we do have enough from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey to draw some conclusions. 

In August, for example, approximately 0.5 percent of workers quit one job to start another (so they remained employed). This is slightly below the average pre-pandemic level of 0.7 percent. Add to this the less than 0.6 percent of workers who I estimate quit into unemployment or who left the labour force altogether, and only roughly one percent of workers left their job in August.^{1I estimate this directly using the LFS Public Use Microdata File. The monthly average since 2017 is 0.3 percent who quit into unemployment or left the labour force. The higher rate in August is seasonal. The average monthly quit rate for all reasons from 2017 to today is one percent.}

This is no higher than the normal pre-pandemic rates, and starkly lower than the U.S. If there is a Great Resignation, it can’t be found here.

But even if quit rates were rising, that shouldn’t itself necessarily be a cause for concern. After all, people leave their jobs for many reasons. Returning to school is a very common one, with over 200,000 Canadians leaving a job for this reason over the past year. Personal or family reasons are also common.

So consider another measure: the number of people who were so dissatisfied with their job that they preferred no work at all. We have pretty good data on this, as Statistics Canada regularly asks people without work whether they left a job in the past year for various reasons.

The results are striking. 

Today, roughly 0.7 percent of the workforce left their job over the past year due to dissatisfaction with their job. This is below the pre-pandemic level, and notably lower than the 1.2 percent that prevailed before the financial crisis.

This is a clear improvement, but there might be risks this trend does not hold.

For example, Statistics Canada recently asked what employees considered most essential in their job. Not surprisingly, salary and benefits topped the list. So as high inflation continues to erode the real value of pay, job dissatisfaction and quits may rise. And while a flexible work location was not listed as very important by most workers, those workers that now normally work at least partly from home—which is just over one-quarter of workers today—a flexible work location was listed as essential or very important by over two-thirds. As an increasing number of employers seek to return to the office, job dissatisfaction—at least among some—may rise.

But there’s little evidence of this picture changing anytime soon. When asked whether people are planning to leave their jobs, Statistics Canada again finds no Great Resignation in sight. 

Specifically, in August, they found that just under 12 percent of Canadian workers said they were planning to leave their job at some point over the next year. This is higher than the roughly 6 percent who said they were planning to leave the last time Statistics Canada asked the question in January. But is roughly consistent with the normal churn rate of one percent of workers leaving their current job per month. It is also far below the one-third of U.S. workers who say they plan to within the next six months, according to the Conference Board.

While Canada appears to be avoiding the Great Resignation, there is another potentially more serious source of concern. And one government may not be ready for: surging retirements.

Over the past year, the equivalent of 1.5 percent of Canada’s workforce retired. This is one-third above the roughly 1 percent that retired a decade ago. And it will only grow much larger from here.

This will have massive implications for Canada’s economic future. With a smaller share of its population working, overall productivity will be lower. For context, the latest projections suggest the national working-age population share may fall from its current 66 percent to nearly 62 percent by 2040. I estimate this would reduce the average annual rate of economic growth over this time by over 0.3 percentage points. This is large. Very large. In effect, it shrinks the size of Canada’s 2040 economy by more than 6 percent relative to a situation where there is no aging—that’s equivalent to nearly $170 billion today, or $4,500 per person. 

It is the rising wave of retirements—rather than the not-so-Great Resignation—that deserves our attention.

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, takes her final resting place today at Windsor Castle. This is no ordinary funeral. It honours a woman who was not only this country’s head of state for 70 years, but also who—through both longevity and purpose—was inextricably woven into the fabric of Canadian history. 

A look at the life of Her Majesty is to take an enviable ride in a time machine to some of this great Dominion’s most important moments. Whether it was signing a proclamation to establish a new flag for Canada in 1965, the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, or signing the 1982 Constitution Act, Queen Elizabeth II was a steadfast and proud participant in our past—something not lost on our late monarch.

“During my lifetime, I have been a witness to this country for more than half its history since Confederation,” the Queen said on July 1, 2010, in Ottawa. “I have watched with enormous admiration how Canada has grown and matured while remaining true to its history, its distinctive character, and its values.”

She certainly knew Canada’s history, character, and values. At the rededication ceremony for the Vimy National War Memorial in 2007, she stood in front of Walter Allward’s masterpiece and remarked that “In any national story there are moments and places, sometimes far from home, which in retrospect can be seen as fixed points about which the course of history turns, moments which distinguish that nation forever. Those who seek the foundations of Canada’s distinction would do well to begin here at Vimy.”

The Queen was also present during the difficult few years after the 1990 collapse of the Meech Lake accord. On July 1, 1992, the 125th anniversary of Confederation, Canada was in a muddle, but Her Majesty reminded us that “we have an occasion and a country worth celebrating.” 

Noting the ongoing constitutional squabbles, Her Majesty gently warned politicians gathered on Parliament Hill that, “It is, perhaps, worth reminding those striving for constitutional success that the real Constitution is not cast immutably on the printed page but in the hearts of the Canadian people.”

Her relationships with her Canadian prime ministers were superb. From Louis St. Laurent to Justin Trudeau, the Queen impressed them all. “Her Majesty proved to be among the wisest persons I was destined to encounter in public life,” wrote Brian Mulroney in his 2015 memoir. “Considering that she began with Winston Churchill as her prime minister, this should surprise no one. I was able to draw upon this experience when I sought her advice in the years that lay ahead, and I remain grateful to this day for the thoughtful counsel she provided.” 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau echoed those sentiments in the House of Commons last Thursday when he said, “She embraced her role as Queen of Canada, our Queen, our head of state. Her conversations with me were always candid. We talked about anything and everything. She gave her best advice on a range of issues. She was always curious, engaged, and thoughtful. Canadians can be forever grateful for her counsel.”

It is possible that some of the prime minister’s reverence for Her Majesty is due to his father’s admiration for the Queen. It may surprise people to discover that Pierre Trudeau was very fond of her, and the two developed a warm relationship, despite the PM’s antipathy for the British Empire. 

The comfort of the friendship once emboldened the prime minister to tell the monarch over dinner the story of his aunt who said it was okay to pick up a chicken drumstick with one’s hands. “The Queen does it,” his aunt said in defence when someone raised an eyebrow. As John English notes in his Trudeau biography, the two looked at each other and the Queen only replied, “Hmm.” 

“I imagine she wouldn’t do it,” the prime minister surmised later when he told the story. 

There are many lessons to draw from Queen Elizabeth II’s interactions with Canada during the past 70 years. She never lost sight of the limitless possibilities of this country. Above the political fray, she remained positive and consistently reminded us of what we have. 

“As Queen of Canada, I have had the privilege of speaking to you on numerous occasions since my first visit in 1951,” she said from Edmonton 17 years ago. 

“In doing so, I have attempted to convey the admiration and optimism I feel for this land and her diverse people. Your enduring ties to the Crown stand not only for a respect for heritage but also for the principles of peace, order, and good government developed by the Fathers of Confederation who envisaged and worked so diligently to make this country a reality.” 

During Her Majesty’s reign, we have occasionally lost the plot about what Canada stands for. But God bless her for being there to remind us of what we have. Maybe that will be her lasting legacy here.