7-in-10 lowest rankings for living standards across Canada and U.S. belong to Canadian provinces; only Alberta (25th of 60) ranks in top half

VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 8, 2026 /CNW/ -- Of the 60 Canadian provinces and U.S. states in North America, seven provinces rank among the bottom 10 for the lowest living standards, according to a new study published by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.

"By comparing important economic outcomes in Canadian provinces and American states, it's easy to see how Canadians stack up to their counterparts south of the border, and in recent years, Canadians have been falling further behind," said Jake Fuss, director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Squandering the Canadian Century Part 2: Comparing Economic Performance in Canadian Provinces and US States.

The study compares living standards, incomes, private sector employment and labour productivity in all ten Canadian provinces and all 50 U.S. states. In every category, Canadians have fallen further behind Americans.

Specifically, in 2024 (the most recent year of comparable data), seven of the 10 lowest rates of GDP per person--a standard measurement of living standards--were Canadian provinces. New Brunswick ranked lowest, followed by Prince Edward Island (59), Nova Scotia (58), Manitoba (56), Quebec (55), Newfoundland and Labrador (52) and Ontario (51).

B.C. ranked 49^th out of 60 jurisdictions on living standards, while Saskatchewan ranked 35^th, and Alberta--the only province in the top half--ranked 25^th.

Similarly, the study also found that most U.S. states also out-earned most Canadian provinces with inflation-adjusted median employment income--wages and salaries--increasing faster in most states than in Canadian provinces in recent years. In fact, in 2024, median employment incomes in all 50 states were higher than in all ten Canadian provinces.

"The evidence is clear--the 21^st century has, so far, not belonged to Canadians, who have seen their living standards and incomes fall further behind those of Americans," Fuss said.

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The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institute's independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute.org

SOURCE The Fraser Institute

MEDIA CONTACT: Jake Fuss, Director, Fiscal Studies, Fraser Institute; To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact: Erin Clemens, Junior Communications Coordinator, Fraser Institute, Office: [phone] ext. 615, [email protected]