The Fraser Institute has published a new study, Changes in Per-Person GDP (Income): 1985 to 2023. In it, the think-tank’s researchers say Canadians are experiencing a steep decline in living standards – the third steepest decline and the second longest decline in the last 40 years. “If not stabilized in 2024, this decline could be the steepest and longest in four decades,” they state.
The current decline in living standards, measured using inflation-adjusted per-person gross domestic product (GDP), is currently sitting at 18 fiscal quarters, surpassed only by the decline recorded between 1989 and 1994 which lasted 21 quarters.
“Real GDP per person is a broad measure of incomes (and consequently living standards). This paper analyzes changes in quarterly per-person GDP, adjusted for inflation from 1985 through to the end of 2023, the most recent data available at the time of writing,” they state. During the period studied, Canada experienced nine periods of decline and recovery in real GDP per person.
They add that the paper also compares the relative depths and length of each decline, and the relative length of each recovery. It also compares the duration and growth of real GDP per person between the various periods of decline.
“The key finding is that since the middle of 2019, Canada has experienced one of the longest and deepest declines in real GDP per person over the last four decades,” they state.