If you think back to the last pandemic (the Spanish Flu, which hit the world in 1918), once the world recovered, we saw an era of economic growth and prosperity dubbed “The Roaring ‘20s.”

Fast forward 100 years, and it looks like we might be heading towards the same kind of bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic, which means the next few years could be very good for business if history repeats itself.

With pent-up demand, and with many Canadians sitting on extra cash, once vaccines get into arms and the latest wave of the pandemic is behind us, the recovery could be quicker than many of us expect.

Adding fuel to this hope, the National Bank of Canada recently raised their outlook for 2021 GDP growth in Canada to 5.4% (from 4.2%). They also added, “We are revising up our forecast of global growth in 2021 from 5.5% to 6.0%.”

These are impressive numbers, and they certainly offer us much-needed hope at a time when many of us are exhausted from the challenges we continue to face, and the day-to-day hyper-vigilance we have to exercise in order to keep our staff, customers, suppliers, and ourselves safe from the virus.

Invest in tomorrow

Admittedly, we won’t know if these optimistic numbers will come to fruition until everything is said and done. However, it would be prudent to prepare for the hoped-for bounce back, and that’s exactly what many of the experts who have contributed to this issue of Autosphere Mag recommend we do.

I’m particularly encouraged by the positive attitude of JF Champagne, President of AIA Canada, whose words you can read in this issue. He concludes his column with an encouraging thought that I think we can all take to heart.

“There will come a time when the pandemic will end. By taking action during times like these and preparing ourselves for the future through investment in equipment, training and processes… [it helps] the industry as a whole.”

May we continue to invest in the future of our industry as we hope for the second edition of “The Roaring ‘20s.”