An economist says the standard of living in Canada is lower than that in the United States, citing poor productivity or lower GDP per person.Moshe Lander, a Concordia University economics professor, told the Western Standard Monday a higher rate of productivity means a higher standard of living, noting that Canada’s GDP per person has been flat and in some cases falling for the last 30 to 40 years.“If you go back about 30 years ago to 40 years ago, Canada’s standard of living, which we would measure as GDP per person, was about 90% of the U.S. level. Now, it's around 65% of the U.S. level.”According to Statistics Canada, Alberta has the highest GDP per person in Canada. The Western Standard looks into what a independence means for the province’s standard of living..Would a Alberta independence raise the standard of living for Albertans?According to Lander, independce from Canada can be costly, citing court cases, unclear borders with Canada, tariffs and the need to create a new central bank and set up embassies around the world.Additional costs mean more taxes, and therefore lower output per person, according to Lander.“Alberta’s success comes from sitting on top of a resource. It's just that you were blessed with a resource that everybody else doesn't have. Indigenous groups in Alberta are going to say: ‘Hang on a second, that's our resource,’” he said.“So, there would be a catastrophe of lawsuits.”Alberta’s case with the rest of Canada is “blocking of pipeline development to get that key resource that helps” residents have a higher standard of living, Lander says, adding that independ would add more complications.“If Alberta were to separate, then there would now be an actual border at B.C. and an actual border at Saskatchewan. Do you think that a separate Canada is going to be more willing to have pipelines built across its land when Alberta is no longer even a part of it?” Lander said. “(Canada) is going to charge tariffs ... There's going to be an element of vengeance, anger and frustration.”.When asked about becoming the 51st state, Lander said Alberta’s political and economic structures would change, citing challenges.“Whatever would have to be given to senators. The same way that every state in the U.S. already has two senators. So, if Alberta gets two senators out of what would be 102, they have even less of a voice in the U.S. than they have in Canada,” he said.“The other part of it is that if they were to join the U.S., that means then that monetary policy would be set by the Fed in Washington. The Fed’s one policy for all means that Alberta's influence is going to be close to zero.Alberta, which is currently a large part of the Canadian economy, would become an insignificant part of the U.S. economy, according to Lander.“So, let's say that the oil price is high, then Alberta's economy risks overheating.”According to Lander, it is possible for Alberta to remove the blocking of the pipeline development. It can be done through “selling itself to the rest of Canada.”He suggests the federal and provincial governments work hand in hand to build a stronger and more sustainable economy while focusing on diversifying industries in Alberta.Following the election of Prime Minister Mark Carney, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith tabled Bill 54, making it easier for residents to organize an Alberta independence referendum. It comes as some Albertans argue the Liberals will continue the anti-Alberta policies of Justin Trudeau.Bill 54 amends the Citizen Initiative Act to lower the signature threshold for triggering a provincial referendum from 20% to 10% of eligible voters, approximately 177,000 signatures. It allows citizens to petition for referendums on issues like independence, potentially enabling a 2026 vote if sufficient signatures are collected..Why has the GDP per person been falling for the last 30 years?A lack of competition in Canada is a major factor, contributing to higher prices of products and services.“Canada has been falling behind because our industries are awash in a lack of competition,” Lander said. “Just think about airlines, banks, cell phone providers, or cell phone service providers, food suppliers, farmers, grocers, the Dairy Board of Canada, telecoms, newspapers, etc. ... It’s all non-competitive. There's maybe a handful of firms that dominate these industries, and they don't really face genuine competition.”Lander says this issue goes back to Brian Mulroney's time. He says the government needs to encourage competition and add more restrictions on mergers.Retail expert Bruce Winder said in an interview that the value of the dollar between the countries is not the only contributor to lower purchasing power for Canadians. He mentions other factors, including the cost of living, population, and competition.According to Winder, when there’s more competition, there are more options for consumers. He says the Canadian consumer has been stuck with fewer options to choose from, whether at the grocery store or at the mall.The standard of living is measured as GDP per person. The output per person can be viewed as the productivity or income per person.
