Meanwhile, it's hard to know what's good news and what's bad. Oil prices have fallen from their peak of more than US$140 a barrel. But given where they've come from, that's not much consolation for the Winnebago-makers of this world. For the energy sector, and for Canada, it may not be really good news at all.

While that won't set the world on fire -- China is growing at more than nine per cent a year -- it's very solid, much better than Ontario and among the top performers in the country.

It's a question that's easy to pose and hard to answer because, despite our new better economic performance, we still seem leery of our own success. Perhaps it's the continued reliance on transfer payments from Ottawa; perhaps it's a natural caution. Perhaps it will change with the new airport, Hydro headquarters and Canadian Museum For Human Rights. Perhaps not.