The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that many observers note Canada's underperformance in GDP per capita compared with other industrialized nations since 2015, a period often labelled "the lost decade." The Globe's guest columnist Charles St-Arnaud writes that this slide into economic mediocrity, however, began well before 2015. After following a similar upward trend since the early 1990s, Canada and the U.S. GDP per capita diverged at the end of 2014, coinciding with the drop in oil prices and subsequent capital expenditure collapse in the oil and gas sector. Notably, the oil boom that ended in 2014 masked the weaker performance of the broader Canadian economy. Since 2014, the decline in oil and gas has hindered Canada's GDP, compounded by sluggish growth in disposable income and household spending, making it difficult for non-energy sectors to contribute to the country's prosperity. In the energy sector, weak global investment means that relaxing restrictive regulations may not lead to the hoped-for investment and economic growth. However, it is still necessary to loosen these regulations, as they negatively impact other sectors, especially the infrastructure investment Canada needs for prosperity.