Figure9-14Oil Consumption and Growth in Canada, 1980–2011 When oil prices increased in the early 1970s, Canadians responded by lowering their oil consumption in the early 1980s—the switch to more efficient automobiles and technologies takes time, so consumption decreases can occur with a lag. It happened also in the mid-2000s when oil prices again rose sharply. Regardless of whether oil consumption was rising or falling, however, the real GDP continued to grow, which suggests that economies can deal with scarce resources.
Sources: Oil consumption: The U.S. Energy Information Administration; Real GDP per capita: Statistics Canada.