What Google Searches Reveal About the Health of the Canadian Economy

Late last Tuesday 80 percent of Canadians either let out a sigh of relief or rose to their feet in jubilation after U.S. President Barack Obama won his second term.

When we wanted to know who was winning the U.S. presidential race and who was gaining traction in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives many Canadians either took to Twitter or major search engines, such as Google, to find the answers to their burning questions. Election results are not the only reason why Google has become a go-to destination for current and future political-economic insight.

Google has the world's largest database of intentions. And with 4.8 billion searches on Google every month in Canada alone, Google may offer some insight into the health of the Canadian economy as well. Here, Aaron Brindle, spokesperson for Google Canada shares a few of 2012's key search terms and explains what these searches for leading, coincidental and lagging indicators might mean for Canadians.

SLIDESHOW: GOOGLE SEARCHES AND WHAT THEY MEAN