CHARLOTTETOWN — We’re living in the best country in the world and if you think we’ve got problems, just go to Europe. But we also have to get used to the fact that the Canadian dollar is going to remain strong.

Those are only two of the messages ScotiaBank’s Senior Vice President and Economist Warren Jestin brought to the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association’s (APTA) annual meeting this week.

In a broad-reaching presentation that took the audience from the Grand Banks of Newfoundland to the shopping plazas of Beijing, Jestin expressed optimism for the Canadian economy, if you can call 1.5 percent growth optimistic.

However, he did say the bank economists expect growth to pick up to 2.3 percent next year by piggybacking on strengthening U.S. demand.

“I’m very optimistic about the outlook for Canada.”

Jestin says North Americans traditionally view the economy as cyclical but recent world events have changed that. For one thing, economics are dictated by politics and continuous growth in emerging nations eclipses business cycles in more familiar markets.

“It’s nations we know nothing about driving our structural change,” he says.

Time was, Americans, Germans and Brits spent the most on tourism and now it’s Chinese tourists who spend most abroad. Last year Chinese tourists outspent American tourists by $20.

“Developing countries are not producers of goods for the west, they’re consumers,” he said

Other Jestinisms:

China produces more cars than U.S., Canada and Mexico combined.

“The Chinese government has $3.4 trillion in cash.”

The U.S. economy is moving higher; employment growth is accelerating but the American economy still doesn’t have as many jobs as it produced before the 2008 recession.

“There is no chance that the U.S. is going to default.”

“Short term interest rates are going to stay lower.”

“Canadian interest rates follow American interest rates.”

And finally:

“Accurate prediction requires an advanced degree in astrology.”