No.
Judging by its per capita gross domestic product—an indicator economists use to gauge prosperity—Alberta is the wealthiest Canadian province, with a per capita GDP of about $73,000 in Canadian dollars, or just over $50,000 in U.S. dollars as of 2023. Mississippi, the poorest U.S. state by the same measure, had a per capita GDP of just over $39,000 USD.
Nationally, however, the U.S. is better off, with a per capita GDP roughly $30,000 USD higher than Canada’s. Until recently, rates of economic growth had been comparable in the neighboring countries. But as both nations confronted inflation and high interest rates, growth in Canada slowed more than in the United States.
Canada’s GDP increased by about 1.5% from late 2023 to late 2024, while the U.S.’s grew by about 2.8% over the same period.
This fact brief responds to conversations such as this one.
Correction: A prior version of this brief misrepresented the currency of Alberta’s per capita GDP.
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
Sources
- Government of Alberta, GDP per capita
- Statistics Canada, Population estimates, quarterly
- Statista, Real per capita gross domestic product of the United States in 2023, by state
- Statista, Per capita real gross domestic product of Mississippi from 2000 to 2023
- International Monetary Fund, Canada
- International Monetary Fund, United States
- Statistics Canada, Gross domestic product by industry: Provinces and territories, 2023
- Statistics Canada, Canada’s gross domestic product per capita: Perspectives on the return to trend
- The Economist, Why is Canada’s economy falling behind America’s?
- Trading Economics, Canada GDP Annual Growth Rate
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is partnering with Gigafact to produce timely fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
