Living standards for the average Canadian declined from 2020-2024 despite growth in the overall economy, as this drop in GDP per person is the worst over any five year-period since the Great Depression, finds a new study published by the Fraser Institute.
“Canada’s decline in GDP per person was the worst among OECD economies over this period and does not bode well for future improvements in living standards for the average Canadian,” said Lawrence Schembri, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Canada’s “Ugly” Growth Experience, 2020–2024: Why GDP per Capita Declined while the Overall Economy Grew.
Lawrence Schembri
The study finds that over the 2020-to-2024 period Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per person—a key indicator of living standards—decreased by 2.0 per cent.
“Notably, Canada’s disappointing per-person GDP growth from 2020 to 2024 is weaker than the OECD’s forecast in 2021, which projected that Canada’s growth of GDP per person from 2020 to 2060 would be the lowest among all 38 OECD member countries,” explained the Fraser Institute.
“Canada’s decline in GDP per person can be attributed to two key factors. The first is the country’s weak growth in business investment caused by increased regulation, higher taxes and increased deficit spending. The second factor was the rapid increase in employment driven by historically unprecedented levels of inward migration.”
These factors were mainly responsible for Canada’s poor economic performance, specifically for the worryingly low rates of growth in labour productivity and growth in per-person GDP, it said.
“To raise the prospects for growth in living standards in Canada over the medium term will require sweeping and substantial policy changes out of Ottawa and the provinces to strengthen the investment environment and improve the overall economic outlook,” Schembri said.
The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries.
Mario Toneguzzi
Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Entrepreneur. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 and 2024 as one of the top business journalists in the world by PR News. He was also named by RETHINK to its global list of Top Retail Experts 2024 and 2025.
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