Our Incomes Are Falling Behind: Earnings in the Canadian Provinces and US States, 2010–2022

Canadians are concerned about their income and their ability to purchase essential goods and services. Real (that is, inflation-adjusted) income determines their purchasing power, and directly affects their standard of living.
This research bulletin compares incomes in Canada’s 10 provinces to those in the 50 US states. It finds that, in general, Canadian provinces are getting poorer relative to their US peers.
Between 2010 and 2022, only one Canadian jurisdiction was in the top half of growth in earnings: British Columbia led Canadian provinces with a $7,732 increase in earnings per person yet it ranked 19th overall for the value of the increase. Following is Prince Edward Island with a $5,824 increase (38th) and Quebec, with a $5,611 increase (41st). While earnings increased in Prince Edward Island, it was by a large margin the lowest-earning jurisdiction in 2010, and again in 2022.
Seven Canadian provinces rank near the bottom of all jurisdictions for earnings growth between 2010 and 2022. Newfoundland & Labrador ranked 47th of the 60 provinces and states, with growth of $4,850; New Brunswick followed at 52nd with $4,399, Ontario at 56th with $3,278, Nova Scotia at 57th with $3,089, Manitoba at 58th with $1,193, and Saskatchewan at 59th at $961. Alberta was last with a decline in earnings growth of $1,555, the only jurisdiction to experience a decline.
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland & Labrador started the period with comparatively low levels of median earnings and also recorded comparatively low levels of growth in their median earnings over the period from 2010 to 2022.
By 2022, all ten Canadian provinces ranked in the bottom ten positions for earnings per person. The four Atlantic Provinces remain in the bottom four positions; Manitoba (5th lowest) and Quebec (7th lowest) also had relatively low ranks. British Columbia improved from 5th lowest in 2010 to 9th lowest in 2022. Alberta remains the highest-earning Canadian jurisdiction, but as of 2022 was surpassed by all US states—in 2010, only 12 US states reported earnings higher than Alberta.