Canada Falls Far Behind U.S. on Living Standards, Other Key Economic Indicators

Obviously, Canada’s relationship with the United States has deteriorated substantially since President Trump launched his tariff war and created real economic pain for Canadians. But our new study reveals more bad news, as Canada’s economy has fallen further behind the U.S. during the first quarter of the 21st century (long before Trump’s tariffs).

In fact, across every measure — including incomes, investment, employment, etc. — the U.S. clearly outperformed Canada.

But perhaps the most eye-opening statistic is the growing gap in living standards. In 1999, Canada’s GDP per-person (an indicator of living standards) was $48,076 (all figures are inflation-adjusted in Canadian dollars) compared to $58,842 in the U.S. — meaning by this measure, living standards in the U.S. were $10,766 higher than in Canada. And the economic fortunes of the two neighbours have since further diverged, considerably.

From 1999 to 2024, per-person GDP in Canada grew by 23.8 per cent to $59,529 compared to a 41.5 per cent increase (to $83,286) in the U.S. Put differently, living standards in the U.S. grew 1.7 times faster than in Canada. And the gap in living standards (again, as measured by per-person GDP) has more than doubled — from $10,766 to $23,757 over the 25-year period.