Growth and wealth
Is growth reaching each of us?
Canada's economy is much bigger than in 1981. Gains per person have been slow in the past decade. Look past the total.
2026 · Quarter 2 · Start of 2015 = 100
See the chart and the case ↗FACTS FOR A BETTER LIFE
See the gap. Make the case.
Growth should mean better lives. Use these charts to see where Canada can do better, read the limits, and back a plan for change.
These are checked snapshots. Each chart has its own date. Older data do not show what is happening today.
Growth and wealth
Growth and wealth
Gains per person have slowed
In 2025, output per person was just 4.3% above 2015, after price rises are taken out. That was the gain for the whole decade.
2025 · Growth over ten years, percent
See the chart and the case ↗Growth and wealth
Where is Canada’s output made?
Every province and territory adds to Canada’s economy. See the size of each one in the same year.
2024 · Canadian dollars, billions
See the chart and the case ↗Growth and wealth
Give workers better tools
Good tools, buildings and systems help work go further. This dated OECD study shows how investment per worker changed.
2023 · 2014 = 100
See the chart and the case ↗Homes and places
Homes and places
Cities make a large share of our output
Jobs and firms tend to group in cities. Homes, shops and good travel links should help people reach them.
2022 · Canadian dollars, billions
See the chart and the case ↗Bills and borrowing
Bills and borrowing
How fast are prices rising?
See more than a century of price rises and falls. A slower rise today does not undo past rises in the cost of daily life.
Aug 2026 · Change from a year earlier, percent
See the chart and the case ↗Bills and borrowing
What is the Bank of Canada rate?
The Bank's rate affects loans across Canada. See its ups and downs since 1992. It is one part of the cost of building or buying a home.
Oct 12, 2026 · Percent
See the chart and the case ↗Work and skills
Work and skills
Work has grown. Recent gains have slipped.
Out of work
Working or seeking work
In work
For ages 25 to 54, the share in work is above its level ten years ago. But it is below its 2023 high. See both the long gains and recent strain.
Sep 2026 · Percent
See the chart and the case ↗Work and skills
Who do we work for?
Public jobs, private jobs and work for yourself all matter. See how each group has changed since 1976.
Sep 2026 · Millions of people
See the chart and the case ↗Work and skills
Where did work grow or shrink?
See how many more or fewer people worked in each group than one year before. A fall is not a count of layoffs.
Sep 2026 · Change from a year earlier, thousands of people
See the chart and the case ↗Work and skills
How many people were retired?
About 6.6 million people said they were retired. They were outside the labour force. This count is from September 2024. It is not a live total.
Sep 2024 · Millions of people
See the chart and the case ↗Work and skills
More people work after they retire
In 2023, 10.3% of people aged 55 and up who had retired were working again. In 2005, the share was 5.6%.
2023 · Percent
See the chart and the case ↗A fair chance
A fair chance
Can newcomers build a life and stay?
See who still lived in their planned province five years after getting permanent status. This is one part of a much bigger question.
2023 · Percent
See the chart and the case ↗A fair chance
Are our lives getting better?
People’s own view of life matters. Money and output are tools. Better lives are the goal.
2025 · Quarter 2 · Life score, from 0 to 10
See the chart and the case ↗Public money
Public money
Public debt: count the assets too
Both debt views are far below their 1990s highs. They differ in how they count public pension funds. Know what is in the number before judging it.
2026 · Quarter 2 · Net debt as a share of GDP, percent
See the chart and the case ↗More charts. More cases for change.
These charts come from our reports. Each keeps its own scope, dates and sources.
Two paths for Canada’s homes
CMHC’s model compares its current forecast with the pace needed to regain 2019 housing affordability by 2036. These are yearly housing starts, not homes already built.
Housing starts per year · September 2026 model; target year 2036
A model range, not a count of actual homes or a promise. It covers market housing and does not solve every low-income need. It is not a plan to fund every home with public money.
Check the sources: CMHC: Fall 2026 Housing Supply Report
Read the report ↗A border tax adds to the bill.
Duty on $100 of goods at the border. These are two examples, not a basket of all imports.
Dollars of duty per $100 at the border · Rules checked October 14, 2026
The EV example requires a valid permit. The shirt uses the basic rate, known as MFN. Some countries get a lower rate. Excludes sales tax, freight and other costs. Not a retail-price or savings estimate.
Check the sources: Import of Electric Vehicles from the People’s Republic of China – Serial No. 1168 · Chapter 61: T2026-2
Read the report ↗What backs the cleanup promise?
Oil-sands mines in Alberta: cleanup costs and the funds held to back them.
Canadian dollars, billions · Security: September 2025. Cleanup estimate: 2024 reporting year. Auditor report: December 2025.
These are estimates for oil-sands mines only. The gap is not a proven taxpayer bill. Firms still owe the cleanup. The rules also count what mines own and what they may earn.
Check the sources: Mine Financial Security Program assessment of implementation
Read the report ↗Young families: a wide wealth gap
The middle net worth of two groups in 2023. The top earner was under 35. Net worth means assets less debts.
Canadian dollars, 2023 prices · 2023
These are different groups, not people before and after buying. The gap does not show cause. The ten-province survey leaves out some people, including those on reserves or in other Indigenous settlements and those in senior homes, prisons and care homes.
Check the sources: Statistics Canada: Survey of Financial Security, 2023 · Statistics Canada: Who the 2023 wealth survey covers
Read the report ↗When a degree does not fit the job
A 2021 Census measure for degree holders aged 25 to 64: the share in jobs that usually need high school or less.
Percent · 2021 Census
The groups can differ in field, language, experience and other ways. This is not the share kept out by licence rules. It does not measure who left Canada.
Check the sources: Statistics Canada: foreign-degree overqualification infographic · Statistics Canada: Education, 2021 Census release
Read the report ↗A tiny share of the quota sought was issued.
Ontario dairy quota exchange, October 2026. Buyers received about 0.26% of the amount they sought.
Kilograms of milk fat per day · October 2026 exchange; summary dated October 2, 2026
One exchange in one province. All 1,777 buyers received some quota. The 0.26% share measures quantity, not the share of farmers approved. One assisted new entrant received 30 kg/day.
Check the sources: Quota exchange — October 2026 · Quota and Milk Transportation Policies
Read the report ↗Most applicants got at least some credit.
Share of small firms that sought debt and got full or partial approval.
percent of applicant firms · 2024 and 2025
Firms with 1–99 employees. Many loan types; not a construction-loan rate. Partial approvals count. This is not the share of all firms or the share of requested dollars.
Check the sources: Small Business Credit Condition Trends, 2015–2025
Read the report ↗Share image See the gap. Make the case.
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