The Financial Post reports in its Saturday, Sept. 14, edition that former Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz has expressed concerns about recession conditions in the Canadian economy, citing a mismatch between population growth and economic expansion. The Post's Jordan Gowling writes that Mr. Poloz pointed out that the unemployment rate has risen to 6.6 per cent, which is typically indicative of a recession. Mr. Poloz highlighted that the population is growing at 3.5 per cent while the economy is only growing at around 1 per cent, leading to a decrease in spending per household typically seen during a recession. Mr. Poloz said: "So that just means, if we didn't have the population growth, it'd be growing as a minus 2 per cent. Well, that is a recession." While the labour market's downturn so far has been mostly a result of too many people chasing too few jobs, Mr. Poloz thinks layoffs could soon become a bigger factor in the new year as mortgage renewals will continue to put a strain on households, causing a further decline in consumer spending in the economy. Mr. Poloz said: "It doesn't matter the rates are coming down, you still have to renew higher from where you were. ... This year is kind of a turning point."