leverage would amplify any global downturn, especially if it became a recession. it is reassuring that should a storm arrive, the canadian economy and financial system are in a good position to weather it. 18 insurance bureau of canada, 2019 facts of the property and casualty insurance industry in canada. 19 in 2018, canadian asset managers had around $ 2 trillion in assets being managed with explicit environmental, social and governance criteria taken into account. 20 we also recognize it ’ s important to be a leader when it comes to our own operations. we ’ ve developed a multi - year strategy to reduce waste and start measuring — and shrinking — our own carbon footprint. 21 for more details, see the website of the central banks ’ and supervisors ’ network for greening the financial system, which was established in december 2017, and the bank ’ s announcement this past march when we were accepted as a member.

some time yet. even so, as we said in january, we expect that both exports and investment will return to positive growth later this year. since the start of the year, the labour market has continued to show strength. the adjustments underway in our oil sector will eventually be completed. and firms tell us that they need to make new investments, and the recent rules around capital cost allowances are likely to speed that up. the bank ’ s role in this process is to maintain a predictable environment for decision making. we have learned from experience that keeping inflation low, stable and predictable is the best contribution we can make to canada ’ s economic welfare. crucially, our inflation - targeting framework includes a floating exchange rate that helps our economy adjust to external shocks. we only have to look back a few years for an example. following the oil price collapse of 2015, movements in the exchange rate helped to offset the loss of jobs in the oil sector by boosting exports in other sectors. in addition to the solid economic base that comes from our natural resource sectors, we have numerous advantages we can use to create new economic growth. among other things, we have a well - educated and diverse workforce that is growing through immigration. and, we have trade agreements like the canada - united states - mexico agreement, the comprehensive economic and trade agreement with the european union, and the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans - pacific partnership. these agreements should help to buffer us from some of the negative trade developments i mentioned at the beginning. another possible buffer lies right here at home. recall that when the united states turned protectionist in the 1860s, we responded by uniting our own economic clout through confederation. in today ’ s trade - uncertain world, it is even more important that we continue to make progress in promoting trade among our own provinces and territories. and enhancing economic links between north and south is even more urgent, given the growing risks around climate change. you are already feeling the impact of climate change here, and it will affect almost every aspect of life in the north. lowering barriers to trade could certainly help mitigate these economic impacts. the good news is that trade in services among the provinces has been growing rapidly over the past 10 years and is already larger than interprovincial goods trade. the bad news is that goods trade between provinces has basically been stagnant for a decade. to make this point concrete, bank staff estimate that canada ’ s potential economic growth would increase by about 0. 2 percentage