Canada is getting poorer when compared to its wealthy peers, data shows
CBC
Canada is among the richest countries in the world — but when compared to peer countries like Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, it isn't as rich as it once was.
And the wealth gap between Canada and the U.S. has only grown wider, according to figures published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Canada's relatively weak economic growth, combined with a population boom, has hit its standing among wealthy countries.
It's one reason why Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has turned to former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney to give him and his cabinet advice on how to juice economic growth.
Treasury Board President Anita Anand is also launching what she calls a "working group" to study the country's lacklustre productivity and find ways to boost economic output.
The Bank of Canada is also seized with the issue. In March, Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers sounded the alarm about the need to boost Canada's productivity.
"You've seen those signs that say, 'In emergency, break glass.' Well, it's time to break the glass," she said in a speech.
Recent Statistics Canada data shows why: Canada's economy is growing overall but at a disappointing rate relative to population growth.
The country added nearly 1.3 million people last year — a 3.2 per cent increase — while the economy grew by just 1.1 per cent in the same time period. That means more people taking slices out of an economic pie that hasn't grown much bigger.
The news isn't all bad. Data shows real weekly earnings — a person's take home pay — has actually increased in Canada, even when accounting for inflation. The household savings rate is also up.
And there may be some improvement on the horizon; Canada's economic growth is expected to hit 1.3 per cent in 2024 and 2.4 per cent the year after, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) data.
A country's wealth can be measured by dividing the size of its economy by how many people live there. In economic circles it is known as "GDP per capita" and it's an important indicator of living standards.
Gross domestic product, or GDP, is the total value of goods produced and services provided in a country in a given year. On a per capita basis, GDP fell 0.1 per cent in the second quarter of this year — the fifth consecutive quarterly decline, according to Statistics Canada.
Paul Beaudry served as deputy governor of the Bank of Canada from 2019 and 2023 and is now a professor at the Vancouver School of Economics at UBC.
