In previous blogs, I have been documenting the fact that both Nova Scotia and PEI have been outpacing New Brunswick on most key economic indicators since the late 1990s. A new Statistics Canada report out last week highlights this trend and reveals just how far we have slipped compared to our eastern neighbour, Nova Scotia.
The report entitled: Catching Up and Falling Behind: The Performance of Provincial GDP per Capita from 1990 to 2003 looked at Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in 1990, 1997 and 2003. In 1990, New Brunswick’s GDP per capita was well behind Nova Scotia. However, after a number of years of outpacing Nova Scotia, by 1997, New Brunswick had passed Nova Scotia for this measurement. I personally remember this as a high point in the McKenna years. However, the report goes on to point out that from 1997 to 2003, Nova Scotia has ripped past New Brunswick and now has a larger GDP per capita differential over New Brunswick than it did back in 1990.
We have erased the economic gains we made over Nova Scotia in just a few short years. Not that it is a race. I think we are more like partners with Nova Scotia than competitors. However, if we can’t even keep up with our eastern neighbour, how can we ever expect to make gains on provinces such as Ontario and Alberta?