a brief recovery in 1994 was followed by an economic slump in 1995–1996. since that date, the canadian economy has improved markedly, in step with the boom in the united states. in the mid-1990s, jean chrétien's liberal government began to post annual budgetary surpluses, and steadily paid down the national debt. once referred to as a fiscal basket-case , canada has become a model of fiscal stability as the government has posted surpluses every fiscal year from 1996 to the 2008 recession.