Atlantic provinces rank in the bottom half among all provinces and U.S. states in annual economic freedom rankings

HALIFAX, NS, Dec. 2, 2025 /CNW/ - All four Atlantic provinces rank low among the 10 Canadian provinces and 50 U.S. states in the annual Economic Freedom of North America report, published today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan, public policy think-tank.

New Brunswick remains the top-ranked Atlantic province (57^th out of 60 Canadian provinces and U.S. states), followed by Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia (tied at 58^th) tied, and in last place, Newfoundland and Labrador (60^th). Only Puerto Rico and the Mexican states ranked lower.

Critically, seven of the 10 Canadian provinces rank below all 50 US states in all-government economic freedom.

"High taxes, high levels of government spending and overly-burdensome regulations continue to depress economic freedom across Atlantic Canada, which makes it harder for businesses to thrive and create jobs," said Matthew Mitchell, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and co-author of the report, which measures government spending, taxation, regulation and labour market restrictions using data from 2023 (the latest year of available comparable data).

People are more economically free with they are allowed to make more of their own economic decisions--about what to buy, where and how to work, and how to start and run business. Economists find that economic freedom is fundamental to prosperity and well-being.

In this year's report, Alberta remained the highest-ranked province (30^th overall) followed by British Columbia (47^th), Ontario (49^th), Manitoba (54^th) and Saskatchewan (55^th).

"The link between economic freedom and prosperity is clear: people who live in jurisdictions that have comparatively low taxation, limited government, sound regulatory regimes and flexible labor markets tend to prosper and that prosperity allows them to live happier, healthier and wealthier lives," Mitchell said.

The Economic Freedom of North America report is an offshoot of the Fraser Institute's Economic Freedom of the World index, the result of more than a quarter century of work by more than 60 scholars including three Nobel laureates.

Detailed tables for each country and subnational jurisdiction can be found at www.freetheworld.org.

Follow the Fraser Institute on Twitter  | Like us on Facebook

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: Matthew Mitchell, Fraser Institute; To arrange an interview, please contact: Drue MacPherson, 604-688-0221 ext. 721, [email protected]