Good news! Since the Legault government came to power in October 2018, Quebecers have grown richer at a higher rate than Ontarians.
As desired by Prime Minister Legault and his financier, Minister of Finance Eric Girard, in six years we have reduced the gap with Doug Ford’s Ontario, which province serves as a benchmark for measuring our economic progress.
1. Has our disposable income increased?
First comparison to remember: our household disposable income per capita (after taxes, social security contributions, etc.) has increased by 28% since 2018, compared to 17.7% for Ontario households.
Thus, the gap of $3,819 which separated us from Ontario households in 2018 has shrunk to some $1,451 in 2023, or more than half. According to the latest data from Statistics Canada and the Institute of Statistics of Quebec, household disposable income per capita in Quebec stood at $37,822 in 2023, compared to $39,273 for the Ontario household.
2. Have our salaries really increased?
Second interesting comparison: average weekly remuneration in Quebec has increased by 31.2% since the CAQ government of François Legault came to power, reaching $1,221 last August, up $290 per week compared to that of 2018.
During the same six-year period, average weekly earnings increased by 27% in Ontario, or 4 percentage points less than in Quebec. Although the gap has been reduced, the Ontarian, with his salary of $1,297, earns on average $76 more per week than the Quebecer. This represents an additional annual income of nearly $4,000 for the Ontario worker.
3. Are we more productive?
Third important comparison: we have improved our level of production. Thus, according to data from Statistics Canada and the Institute of Statistics of Quebec, our GDP at market prices per capita reached $65,490 in 2023, an increase of almost 25% in six years.
Meanwhile, GDP at market prices per capita in Ontario climbed by some 19.3%, or 5.7 percentage points less than in Quebec. Despite this lower progression, the level of production in Ontario still remains higher with a per capita amount of $71,659. That’s still $6,169 more per head.
4. Do Quebecers save?
Fourth comparison, the result of which is truly surprising: we save much more than Ontario households.
The net savings of Quebec households will reach a whopping $25.2 billion in 2023. This represents a savings rate of 7.8% on all disposable income.
In Ontario, the savings rate in 2023 was only 1.7%, for total collective savings of $10.1 billion. This is 2.4 times less than in Quebec, while the Ontario population exceeds us by 76%.
Year after year, Quebec households have a collective savings rate significantly higher than that of Ontario households.
