the CanadaVisa Team - 21 July, 2015
For the second year in a row, the World Economic Forum has ranked the Canadian banking system the soundest in the world in its annual report on global competitiveness.
Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has cited the strength of its banking system as a major reason that the impact of the global recession was milder in Canada than it was in most other countries.
"Our banks did not get into a lot of trouble because they were adequately capitalized ... and they were obliged to maintain that because not only do we regulate but we enforce our regulations," said Flaherty.
As well as having the soundest banking system in the world, Canada was also ranked highest for ease of starting a business in a country and second-highest for its quality of business schools.
Overall, Canada’s competitiveness ranking increased to 9th place, up from 10th last year and 13th the year before, evidence that Canada's competitiveness in the global market is steadily improving.
"This is the second year that Canada has seen an improvement in its ranking. We moved up four rankings in two years," said Jim Milway, executive director of the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity in Toronto.
