Oh Canada! Reasons to Embrace Our Nation
Respected economist Paul Krugman recently wrote an article, “What Happens When Americans Realize How Miserable We Are?” His main takeaway was that “life is about more than GDP” — a striking framing for someone who has spent much of his career analyzing it. His broader point is that few people realize how much the U.S. is falling behind other advanced nations on basic aspects of quality of life, such as health and safety.1
That distinction matters for Canada. We haven’t had a lot of good news lately. We’ve moved from the pandemic into an era of persistent inflation. Just as price pressures were finally easing, renewed trade tensions with the United States, and then a Middle East war, introduced fresh inflationary pressure and uncertainty.
Yet, stepping back, Canada continues to perform strongly among advanced economies on a variety of metrics. What follows is a reminder of the structural strengths that often get lost in periods of short-term economic and political uncertainty:
We rank third in the G7 in terms of GDP per capita.2 While we lag behind the U.S., one economist suggests Canada’s GDP figures may not be as comparatively weak as they appear. He argues: “A major flaw in GDP as a measure of economic productivity is how it fails to properly value public-sector output. While private sector outputs are easy to quantify through market transactions, public services — like healthcare and education — are trickier to value. Countries that rely more heavily on public services, like Canada, are penalized in GDP comparisons.”3
Krugman similarly suggests that Europe’s lower GDP per capita relative to the U.S. is partly explained by greater leisure time. While the Germans and the French are roughly as productive per hour as Americans, because they receive 25 to 28 days of paid leave every year, this skews the data downward.1
We have relatively low income inequality. While Canada’s income gap has widened, we remain tied for second in income equality in the G7, as measured by the Gini coefficient, which quantifies how much the distribution of income deviates from perfect equality. By contrast, the U.S. has the highest income inequality in the G7. High inequality is often associated with lower social mobility, instability and weaker welfare outcomes.3
We hold a relatively high life expectancy. Canadians live longer, on average, than Americans, with an average life expectancy of 83.05 years. This is significantly higher than our neighbour to the south, at 79.76 years.4
Despite recent increases, our crime rate remains relatively low. As measured by the 2023 homicide rate, Canada recorded 1.98 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to the U.S., which had closer to 6 homicides per 100,000.5
We have high political stability. In an increasingly volatile world, stability and reliability are increasingly valued. According to one source, Canada places 4th globally for economic stability and 1st among G20 countries for fiscal soundness. Across political, social, institutional (government) and cultural indicators, Canada maintains significant comparative strengths.6
Our healthcare outcomes are strong. Despite an overburdened and under-resourced healthcare system, nearly 89 percent of Canadians reported being in good health — the highest score across all OECD countries. This is slightly ahead of the U.S. (88 percent) and far above the OECD average of 68 percent.3,7 The U.S. spends 16.5 percent of its larger per-capita GDP on healthcare, compared to 11.2 percent in Canada, despite both countries having a comparable number of doctors and nurses per capita.
We have a solid foundation for labour productivity. Canada leads the G7 in women’s labour-force participation. We also rank 7th globally for average working hours8 and now boast the world’s most highly educated population, having the greatest share of adults holding a tertiary degree.9 These are important drivers of productivity and innovation.
We are a resource-rich nation. Canada ranks 4th globally by natural resource value.10 Despite accounting for only 0.5 percent of the global population, Canada is the second-largest country by landmass. We have three coastlines and an abundance of freshwater resources, which are becoming increasingly valuable and strategic in a resource-constrained world.
Canadian household wealth continues to grow. At the end of 2025, household wealth reached a new high at $18.59 trillion, with average household net worth rising to $1.08 million; more than a 30 percent gain from pre-pandemic levels. Every generation saw gains, with Gen X and Millennials experiencing double-digit growth. Wealth has now increased for eight consecutive quarters. Even lower-income Canadians have seen disposable income rise, albeit at a slower rate than the national average.11
We hold one of the world’s most powerful passports. The Canadian passport remains one of the most valuable globally, offering significant mobility. In the 2026 Global Passport Ranking, Canada ranks 7th globally, granting visa-free access to 182 countries. Singapore tops the list, with access to 192 countries.12
Though challenges lie ahead, as we break for the summer, I/we hope you will take some time to reflect on the many strengths that make Canada a wonderful place to call home.
1. https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/what-happens-when-americans-realize
2. https://www.voronoiapp.com/economy/GDP-Per-Capita-Projections-for-G7-Nations-1562
3. https://macleans.ca/economy/why-canadas-economy-is-just-fine/
4. https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/life-expectancy/
5. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1374211/g7-country-homicide-rate/
6. https://www.investcanada.ca/stability
7. https://www.cma.ca/healthcare-for-real/how-does-canada-rank-health-care#
8. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-average-working-hours-by-country/
9. https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/population-with-tertiary-education.html
10. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-top-10-countries-by-value-of-all-theirnatural-resources/
11. https://financialpost.com/wealth/canadian-households-how-do-you-stack-up
