A Comparative Analysis of the Economic Performance of Canada and Its OECD Competitors, 2007–2019

— Aug 7, 2024

A Comparative Analysis of the Economic Performance of Canada and Its OECD Competitors, 2007-2019 finds that over the last business cycle (2007 to 2019), and long before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Canada was already underperforming other advanced countries on important investment, employment and productivity measures that are key to higher living standards.

We're Getting Poorer: GDP per Capita in Canada and the OECD, 2002-2060

— Jul 23, 2024

We’re getting poorer: GDP per Capita in Canada and the OECD, 2002 - 2060 is a new study that finds Canada had the third-lowest growth in GDP per person—a broad measure of living standards—from 2014 to 2022 among 30 advanced economies in the OECD.

Recent Trends in Youth Employment

— Jun 27, 2024

Recent Trends in Youth Employment finds that the median number of weekly hours worked by young Canadians (aged 15-24) has fallen 16.3 per cent since 1989 and youth employment rates remain below 1980s levels.

Comparing Employment Income in Toronto and Selected American Metropolitan Areas

— Feb 15, 2024

Comparing Employment Income in Toronto and Selected American Metropolitan Areas is a new study that compares median employment income in Toronto and US metropolitan areas, and finds that the annual gap in employment income between Toronto and the lowest ranking large US metropolitan area, Miami, was $2,030 in 2019, while the difference between Toronto and the highest-ranking US metro, San Francisco, was $32,765.

Analysis of Changes in Median Employment Income in Large Canadian and American Metropolitan Areas, 2010–2019

— Oct 19, 2023

Analysis of Changes in Median Employment Income in Large Canadian and American Metropolitan Areas, 2010-2019 is a new study that ranks employment income growth in the largest 141 metropolitan areas in Canada and the United States from 2010 to 2019, finding that only three Canadian cities rank in the top half, with Toronto—Canada’s largest metropolitan area—ranking 102nd.

Comparing Median Employment Incomes in Atlantic Canada and New England Metropolitan Areas

— Oct 17, 2023

Comparing Median Employment Incomes in Atlantic Canada and New England Metropolitan Areas measures median employment income in 20 metropolitan areas in Atlantic Canada and New England (from 2010-2019), finding that most major urban areas in Atlantic Canada underperformed compared to the neighbouring region.

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Recent Labour Policy Commentaries and Blog Posts

Canada’s federal bureaucracy expanding rapidly at your expense

Matthew Lau

Appeared in the Ottawa Citizen, August 29, 2024

Since 2015, the number of employees at the federal department for Women and Gender Equality increased by 382 per cent.

Canada’s dismal growth prospects should raise alarm bells in New Brunswick

Alex Whalen

Appeared in the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, August 12, 2024

The province's per-person GDP trailed the Canadian average by more than $10,000.

Canada living standards falling behind rest of developed world

Alex Whalen, Milagros Palacios, Lawrence Schembri

Appeared in the Hub, July 29, 2024

Canada’s GDP per person increased by $1,325 during this period compared to the OECD average increase of $5,070.

Estonia’s solution to Canada’s stagnating economic growth

Callum MacLeod, Jake Fuss

Canada’s personal income and business tax rates are uncompetitive compared to other advanced economies.

Ontario’s future as dynamic economy in doubt—if employment trends continue

Livio Di Matteo

A drop in self-employment means a drop in the number of small businesses and a decline in entrepreneurship.

B.C.’s minimum wage hike hurts workers

Tegan Hill

Appeared in Business in Vancouver, June 17, 2024

When the cost of labour increases, employers tend to hire fewer workers.

Federal politicians of all stripes protect union workers at expense of other workers

Matthew Lau

Appeared in the National Post, June 7, 2024

The ban will increase labour costs and discourage entrepreneurs and investors from investing and doing business.

Federal government’s ‘fudget budget’ relies on fanciful assumptions of productivity growth

Niels Veldhuis, Jake Fuss

Appeared in the Financial Post, April 23, 2024

From 2015 to 2023, omitting 2020 due to COVID, labour productivity has declined by an average of 0.8 per cent annually.

Canada’s struggling private sector—a tale of two cities

Jason Clemens, Joel Emes

When commercial centres have lower median employment incomes than capital cities, the private sector may be in real distress.

Government-sector job growth dwarfs private-sector job growth across Canada

Ben Eisen

Appeared in the Hill Times, November 21, 2023

From February 2020 to June 2023, the number of government jobs increased by 11.8 per cent compared to only 3.3 per cent in the private sector.

Research Experts

Jason Clemens

Executive Vice President, Fraser Institute
Hugh MacIntyre

Senior Policy Analyst, Fraser Institute
Matthew D. Mitchell

Senior Fellow in the Centre for Economic Freedom, Fraser Institute
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President, Fraser Institute

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