Alberta most economically free province, but still ranks below most U.S. states
Alberta may be home to the most economic freedom of any province in Canada, but it still ranks 30th overall across the continent.
Alberta may be home to the most economic freedom of any province in Canada, but it still ranks 30th overall across the continent, according to the latest Economic Freedom of North America report from the Fraser Institute.
“High taxes, high levels of government spending and overly-burdensome regulations continue to depress economic freedom across much of Canada, which makes it harder for businesses to thrive and create jobs,” said Matthew Mitchell, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and co-author of this year’s report.
People’s economic freedom is determined by the number of economic decisions they have at their personal disposal, such as what they buy, where and how they work, as well as their ability to start and run businesses.
Economic freedom is often seen as the fundamental metric when assessing a place’s prosperity and well-being.
The metrics the report used to evaluate a region’s economic freedom were government spending, taxation, and labour market restrictions.
Alberta ranked 1st in Canada in all three categories.
The think tank used the latest comparable data available across Canada, Mexico and the United States, which was from 2023. It included 10 Canadian provinces, 50 U.S. states, 32 Mexican states, and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.
“Incomes in the most economically free 25 per cent of North American jurisdictions were 19 times higher than in the least-free,” reads the study.
“From 2014 to 2023, the population of the freest U.S. states grew nearly 18 times faster and statewide personal income grew nine times faster than in the least-free states.”
The study concluded that Alberta was once again the highest-ranking Canadian province, tied with West Virginia at 30th overall.
The next freest province was British Columbia; however, it ranked 47th overall and tied with Rhode Island. Ontario was 49th, followed by Manitoba (54th) and Saskatchewan (55th).
Newfoundland & Labrador is the lowest-ranked Canadian province, ranking 60th overall. Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia tied at 58th as the next lowest, followed by New Brunswick at 57th.
New Hampshire was once again ranked the top jurisdiction in North America.
The study noted that seven of the 10 Canadian provinces ranked below all 50 U.S. states in terms of government economic freedom.
“The link between economic freedom and prosperity is clear: people who live in jurisdictions that have comparatively low taxation, limited government, sound regulatory regimes, and flexible labour markets tend to prosper as researchers find they are more likely to live happier, healthier, and wealthier lives,” Mitchell said.