Economic Overview

British Columbia

BC had the second-fastest growing provincial economy in 2017 (+3.7%), sustained by strong real estate, finance, and media sectors in Vancouver. Growth is expected to slow to 2.1 percent in 2018 and 2019, but still leading most other provinces. BC has diverse strengths in natural resources, manufacturing, and service industries, making it resilient to economic downturns.

 

Alberta

Alberta's economy outgrew every other Canadian province in 2017 (+4.6%), as it recovered from a two-year-long recession in 2015 and 2016. Growth is expected to slow to 1.9 percent in 2018, which would still be the second-highest in Western Canada. Alberta's economy has grown more diverse in response to low oil prices, but remains dependent on the energy sector for capital investment.

 

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan had GDP growth of 2.7 percent in 2017, around the national average for that year. It is expected to slow to 1.2 percent in 2018, then accelerate to 2.3 percent in 2019. Saskatchewan has emerged from two years of recession brought about by low oil prices, but its slowdown was not as severe as in its neighbouring province. Like Alberta, Saskatchewan's economy was heavily dependent on the oil and gas sector, but has grown more diverse in response to low oil prices.

 

Manitoba

Manitoba's economy grew at a similar pace to Saskatchewan's in 2017 (2.6%). It is expected to slow to 1.6 percent in 2018 and 1.2 percent in 2019, lagging behind national GDP growth. Manitoba's economy is the most diverse in Western Canada, with strong construction and manufacturing sectors.

 

 

 

Small Businesses

Western Canada has a strong entrepreneurial spirit: Alberta has the highest number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) per capita of any Canadian province. Small business contributes more to GDP in Western Canada than in the rest of Canada (see chart).

The top five sectors in terms of the number of SMEs are:

1. Construction: 56,330
2. Professional, scientific, technical services: 52,405
3. Retail Trade: 47,535
4. Health care and social assistance: 38,405
5. Other services: 38,275

 

Trade

Western Canada ran a trade surplus of $73 billion in 2017. The oil and gas industry in Alberta and Saskatchewan is the single largest contributor to the region's export success (see chart).^{Footnote 5}

The United States is the largest trading partner for western provinces, but they have also used their access to the Pacific Ocean to cultivate trade relationships with countries in East Asia. China accounts for eight percent of exports, and Japan for four percent. The Port of Vancouver has the highest throughput of any port in Canada, and the third-most of any in North America.^{Footnote 6}

 

Labour

Western Canada's unemployment rate fell from 6.9 percent to 6.3 percent in 2017, showing fairly balanced conditions that match the national average. However, significant differences continue to be seen among the provinces:

• BC led the country in employment growth (+3.7%) for the second year in a row, and also had the lowest provincial unemployment rate (5.1%).
• Alberta, emerging from two years of recession, returned to modest employment growth (+1.0%), but its unemployment rate (7.8%) remains far higher than it was before the recession.
• Saskatchewan's employment levels contracted slightly in 2017 (-0.2%) and its rising unemployment rate has surpassed the national average.
• Manitoba posted strong employment growth in 2017 (+2.8%), and its unemployment rate (5.4%) is below the national average.

 

Indigenous peoples

Indigenous people are, on average, younger than the rest of the population, and they are one of the fastest-growing demographic groups in the country. Within Western Canada more than half of the Indigenous population live in British Columbia (29%) and Alberta (28%), nearly a quarter reside in Manitoba (24%), and 19 percent reside in Saskatchewan.

Indigenous people are less well-educated than the rest of the population: about half of the Indigenous population aged 25 to 54 have a postsecondary degree, compared to 70 percent of the non-Indigenous population. ^{Footnote 7} The unemployment rate for Indigenous people living off-reserve was 13 percent in 2016, compared to 7 percent for non-Indigenous people. Indigenous communities also score much lower on the Community Well-Being Index, which measures socio-economic indicators such as education, employment, income, and housing conditions. ^{Footnote 8}