The new Canadian pecking order

That Ontario has been eclipsed by the former “have-not” provinces of Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador says much about the nation’s changing economy – By Jock Finlayson, Executive Vice President Business Council of British Columbia

VANCOUVER, BC – Canada’s economic pecking order is changing, at a pace that raises questions about the country’s economic future as well as the sustainability of current federal-provincial fiscal arrangements.

The picture is summarized in the Table below. It shows where the six most affluent provinces rank on three common economic metrics: output or real gross domestic product (GDP) per person; average weekly earnings for people holding payroll jobs; and labour productivity in the business sector.

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Note that the data for the four bottom ranked provinces – Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and PEI – are not reported in the table.