The word recession is hard to avoid these days. Despite the term being on the tips of everyone’s tongues, there still seems to be confusion about what it means. Is there going to be one? How bad will it be? How do you even define the term? Apparently even that old, go-to definition that a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth might not be entirely correct.

So in this episode we're re-airing from November, we go back to basics for a primer on this seemingly nebulous economic term with the help of our guest, Scotiabank's Chief Economist, Jean-François Perrault.

Key moments in this episode:

1:08 — The definition of a recession and why it’s not necessarily what you might think

2:10 — Why a “quick and dirty” definition of a recession can be helpful

2:35 — Who declares whether there’s a recession in Canada?

3:23 — Why it’s only AFTER a recession that we can tell there’s been a recession

3:44 — What is a technical recession?

3:50 — A brief recession history lesson

4:31 — What historically often triggers recessions

5:15 — How long did past recessions last?

6:11 — What a recession in 2023 might look like if we have one

9:21 — What should people be worried about if there is a recession?

11:11 — How psychology and public perception plays into recessions

12:58 — When recessions usually occur in the economic cycle

13:50 — What can governments do to help with a recession? What should they avoid doing?

15:37 — If we have a recession, will we have a “soft landing”?