A latest report has found that in terms of the indicator of living standards, “per capita GDP,” most provinces in Canada are far behind the various states in the United States. In the rankings of the 50 states in the US and 10 provinces in Canada, New York State ranks first, and Alberta is the best-performing province in Canada, ranking 25th.
The Fraser Institute of Canada released this study on October 8, which compares the economic performance of various provinces in Canada with states in the United States. The study covers indicators such as per capita GDP, employment income, private sector employment, and labor productivity. The research reviewed changes since 1999 and used the most recent data available up to 2024.
This is the second part of a two-part series of studies by the Fraser Institute. The first part compared Canada and the United States nationally, while the second part compared the economic performance of 10 provinces in Canada and 50 states in the US based on multiple indicators.
The report points out that among the 50 states in the US, only 5 states did not surpass the labor productivity growth of Canadian provinces. In other words, the productivity growth of 45 states in the US outperformed all Canadian provinces. Prince Edward Island is the only region in both Canada and the US where labor productivity declined.
In 1999, six provinces in Canada were among the bottom 10 regions in the rankings; now, this number has increased to seven. Alberta’s ranking has fallen from 7th place to 25th. Despite the drop in ranking, Alberta remains the best-performing province in Canada economically and is the only Canadian province that made it into the top half of all 60 comparative regions ranked.
The report shows that New York State topped the list with a per capita GDP of 111,528 Canadian dollars. Alberta ranked 25th with a per capita GDP of 74,907 Canadian dollars.
New Brunswick ranked last with a per capita GDP of 46,467 Canadian dollars. Other lower-ranking Canadian provinces include Ontario in 51st place, Newfoundland and Labrador in 52nd place, Quebec in 55th place, and Manitoba in 56th place.
Unlike many states in the US, from 1999 to 2024, the proportion of private sector employment to total employment decreased in all provinces in Canada. This suggests that in each province, government sector employment growth exceeded that of the private sector.
The rankings of the 60 regions based on per capita GDP in 2024 (calculated in Canadian dollars at the 2017 exchange rate) are as follows:
For the complete report by the Fraser Institute, click here.