4. Economists believe that the Canadian economy before 1929 had longer recessions and more cyclical volatility than the post-World War Il economy. ‘The Great Depression that began in 1929 and did not end until the onset of World War Il was the most severe cyclical decline in Canadian history. Moderationof the business cycle after World War IL led to premature pronouncements that the cycle was “dead,” However, the Canadian economy su fered severe recessions in 1981-1982, 1990-1992, and 2008-2009.