Size of government on the rise across Canada

The Size of Government in Canada in 2019

Summary

• This bulletin measures the size of government in Canada, by province, based on total government spending as a share of the economy between 2007 and 2019.
• The size of government (relative to the economy) is important because research shows it has an effect on economic growth and social progress.
• For Canada as a whole, government represented 40.4 percent of the economy in 2019, ranging from a high of 60.2 percent in Nova Scotia to a low of 29.7 percent in Alberta.
• The Maritime provinces have the largest size of government in Canada (as a share of the economy), ranging from 57.4 to 60.2 percent, while the three western-most provinces have the smallest, ranging from 29.7 to 37.2 percent of the economy.
• Increases in the size of government occurred in eight of ten provinces between 2007 and 2019.
• For Canada as a whole, the size of government as a share of the economy increased by 3.0 percentage points between 2007 and 2019.
• The largest percentage point increases in the size of government between 2007 and 2019 were in Alberta (7.3 percentage points), followed by Newfoundland & Labrador (5.5), New Brunswick (4.6), and Nova Scotia (3.3 percentage points).