Ontarians have lower standard of living than residents in neighbouring U.S. states

TORONTO, April 8, 2026 /CNW/ - Ontarians have lower living standards--as measured by GDP per person--than the eight Great Lakes U.S. states, and that gap has been widening in recent years, finds a new report published today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.

"Within North America's Great Lakes region, Ontario is clearly an economic laggard and its living standards are falling behind those of its neighbours," said Jake Fuss, director of fiscal studies at the Fraser Institute, and co-author of Measuring Ontario's Regional Prosperity Gap, 2026 Update.

This study uses GDP (gross domestic product) per person--essentially, the economic production per person--in 2024 as a means of measuring the standard of living and overall prosperity across the Great Lakes region, including: Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin and the province of Quebec.

In 2024 (the latest year of comparable data), Ontario's GDP per person (CA$74,143) was the second-lowest of the region, ahead of only Quebec (CA$68,565). By comparison, New York had GDP per person of CA$134,470.

The average GDP per person for the region was CA$94,523--or 27.5 per cent higher than Ontario.

Crucially, that gap between Ontario and the U.S. states in the region has been widening. In fact, from 2001 to 2024, while the regional average GDP per person grew by 22.5 per cent, Ontario's only grew by 12.7 per cent.

This means that the standard of living in Ontario is falling behind that of neighbouring U.S. states.

"It's important for Ontarians generally--and policymakers specifically--to understand that the province is falling behind its neighbouring jurisdictions," Fuss said.

"The province's relatively poor economic performance in recent years has real consequences for the economic well-being of Ontarians." 

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 of Fiscal Studies, Fraser Institute; To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact: Erin Clemens, Fraser Institute, [phone] Ext. 615, [email protected]