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ALEX LUPUL \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
It used data from Statistics Canada and the United States Census Bureau.<\/p>\n
\u201cProductivity in particular for Manitoba has grown quite slowly \u2014 and that\u2019s one of the biggest contributing factors to income growth,\u201d said Jake Fuss, the Fraser Institute\u2019s director of fiscal studies and the report\u2019s co-author.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf your productivity is not growing very fast in Manitoba, then that ultimately means your living standards, your incomes are not going to be growing nearly as fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fuss defines productivity as the amount of economic activity (or output) produced for each hour worked.<\/p>\n
The Fraser Institute clocked a nine per cent increase in productivity in Manitoba from 2007 to 2024. However, the change is small compared to Saskatchewan (15.1 per cent), Alberta (15.6), and nearly every U.S. state. Washington, at the top of the list, logged a 65.8 per cent jump in productivity.<\/p>\n
Manitoba\u2019s GDP per person growth from 1999 to 2024 was, using 2017 dollars, $11,311. Fifty provinces and states saw more growth, the Fraser Institute\u2019s report says.<\/p>\n
As of 2024, Manitoba\u2019s GDP per person was $52,480, in 2017 dollars. (The report uses 2017 dollars for comparison because it is a Statistics Canada practice.)<\/p>\n
Just Saskatchewan and Alberta ranked worse than Manitoba for median employment income growth between 2010 and 2024.<\/p>\n
Fuss pointed to government policy \u2014 \u201cuncompetitively high\u201d taxes and \u201cburdensome\u201d regulations \u2014 as the reason for slow productivity.<\/p>\n
He advocated for lower personal income and business taxes. High government deficits, including in Manitoba, can \u201cshake investor confidence,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The report ignores other living standard measures, such as life expectancy and income distribution \u2014 areas where Canada is faring better than the United States, said Fletcher Baragar, a University of Manitoba economics professor.<\/p>\n
Average life expectancy in Canada is 82 years old; in the United States, it\u2019s 79.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sense is that probably there\u2019s a better work-life balance in Canada,\u201d Baragar said, adding Americans are \u201cworking more hours in order to get \u2026 (the) higher income per capita.\u201d<\/p>\n
Canadian employees worked an average 1,687 hours in 2025, compared to the typical American\u2019s 1,800, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).<\/p>\n
Manitoba could take measures to boost its GDP, Baragar said: the private sector\u2019s rate of investment in research and development is \u201crelatively low.\u201d<\/p>\n
A C.D. Howe Institute report in December 2025 found Canadian business investment has been so weak since 2015, capital per Canadian worker is falling.<\/p>\n
The return on investment for businesses is lower in Canada than the United States. In some sectors, this is because of higher taxes, said Manish Pandey, a University of Winnipeg economics professor. \u201cThe question is how to attract investment and how to make investment more productive.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s watching technology and artificial intelligence investment boom in the U.S. and China. It\u2019s partly why Canada lags behind the U.S. in growth, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe big story is \u2026 whether the government is the reason for why the return on investment is not as high in Canada relative to the U.S.,\u201d Pandey said. \u201cThat is an open question \u2014 I don\u2019t think there\u2019s an answer to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lauren Stone, the Progressive Conservatives\u2019 economic development critic, blamed the New Democrats for Manitoba\u2019s low ranking.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NDP has not put economic growth as a priority,\u201d Stone said. \u201cGovernment has that responsibility to create a competitive environment that encourages businesses to invest, expand and hire and create jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
(In the report\u2019s timespan, the NDP formed government from 1999 to 2016 and 2023 to present; the PCs formed government from 2016 to 2023.) <\/p>\n
Business Minister Jamie Moses pointed to the province\u2019s waiving of retail taxes on manufacturing equipment and capital investments related to the federal Port of Churchill Plus project. The government adjusted its payroll tax to lower amounts small businesses pay.<\/p>\n
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Recent U.S. tariffs have a \u201cmassive impact\u201d on Manitoba\u2019s economy, Moses said. The provincial government is boosting workforce productivity through skills training programs, such as NextMB Jobs for Youth, he added.<\/p>\n
Canadian provinces accounted for seven of the 10 lowest rankings in the Fraser Institute\u2019s report, when looking at lowest rates of GDP per person. New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia ranked lower than Manitoba.<\/p>\n
The findings are \u201ca reminder that we cannot afford to be complacent,\u201d Elisabeth Saftiuk, acting president of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, wrote in a statement. <\/p>\n
Manitoba has critical minerals, clean energy, agriculture, advanced manufacturing and other assets attractive to investors. Creating conditions for businesses to invest \u201cmatters most,\u201d Saftiuk wrote. <\/p>\n
gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com<\/p>\n
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Gabrielle Pich\u00e9 Gabrielle Pich\u00e9 reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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