TORONTO -- During Monday鈥檚 English-language debate, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau boasted 鈥渕ore than a million jobs, most of them full-time鈥 were created under his government.

It鈥檚 true that the economy is doing well 鈥 very well.

Unemployment is near a 40-year low. Canada鈥檚 GDP beat expectations in the second quarter of 2019, expanding by 3.7 per cent. That鈥檚 better than the United States, which had 2 per cent growth in the same quarter.

On the jobs file, Canada has gained 1.12 million jobs since Nov. 2015. Of those, about 850,000 are full-time.

But Trudeau can鈥檛 take responsibility for all that success, according to Moshe Lander, a professor of economics at Concordia University.

鈥淧oliticians take credit for events that occur during their administration even if they had nothing to do with it,鈥 Lander told CTVNews.ca.

鈥淭he economy has been growing continuously since the financial crisis. Jobs are created as the economy grows. Trudeau was prime minister during (some of that) period, but he did not necessarily enact policies that created those jobs.鈥

Trudeau鈥檚 claim is classic political rhetoric, according to Trevor Tombe, an associate professor of economics at the University of Calgary.

鈥淚ncumbents will always claim credit for good news and opposition will always blame the government for bad news. And neither of those positions are often true,鈥 he said.

In fact, there鈥檚 no clear way to define just how many jobs any government creates on its own, Tombe said.

鈥淗ow many jobs he created is not really an answerable question,鈥 he said.

A better way to look at job creation is through policies. The Liberals鈥 child tax benefit, for instance, could have a real benefit for parents looking to get back to work, Tombe said.

鈥淔or lower income individuals, it might allow them more flexibility. They might be able to spend more time working. You might have an impact to the labour supply,鈥 he said.

Still, Trudeau鈥檚 claim of creating 鈥渕ore than 1 million jobs鈥 is a stretch, experts say.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not something where you can have a precise number,鈥 Tombe said. 鈥淲e just can鈥檛 know that with any certainty.鈥

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