--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/the-canada-u-s-income-gap/" title: "The Canada-U.S. Income Gap" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-02T14:09:34+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-14T00:25:42+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "" post_tag: - "1990s" - "Canada-US income gap" - "employment rate" - "GDP per capita" - "information technology" - "living standards" - "macroeconomic policy" - "personal income" - "productivity growth" - "purchasing power parity" country_focus: - "Canada" - "United States" province_region: - "National" research_theme: - "Economic Well-Being" - "Productivity and Economic Measurement" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/old-reports_hero_banner_bg.webp" status: "publish" --- # The Canada-U.S. Income Gap Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/the-canada-u-s-income-gap/ # The Canada-U.S. Income Gap [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2000-01.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. 2000. “The Canada-U.S. Income Gap.” CSLS Research Report 2000-01. Ottawa. https://csls.ca/research/the-canada-u-s-income-gap/ ## Author: - Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## Report 2000-01 June 2000 6 pages ## Related research [Measuring the Appropriate Outcomes for Better Decision-Making: A Framework to Guide the Analysis of Health Policy Matthew Calver March 2016 | Report 2016-03 | 132 pages](https://csls.ca/research/measuring-the-appropriate-outcomes-for-better-decision-making-a-framework-to-guide-the-analysis-of-health-policy-2016-03/) [Living Standards Domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing Andrew Sharpe, Christopher Ross November 2011 | Report 2011-17 | 124 pages](https://csls.ca/research/living-standards-domain-of-the-canadian-index-of-wellbeing-2011-17/) [Productivity: Key to Economic Success Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) March 1998 | Report 1998-01 | 99 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-key-to-economic-success/) [Productivity Trends: A Canada-U.S. Comparison Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) January 1999 | Report 1999-01 | 6 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-trends-a-canada-u-s-comparison/) [A Comparison of Canadian and U.S. Labour Market Performance, 1989-2000 Andrew Sharpe April 2001 | Report 2001-01 | 29 pages](https://csls.ca/research/a-comparison-of-canadian-and-u-s-labour-market-performance-1989-2000/) [Raising Canadian Living Standards: A Framework for Discussion Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) October 2002 | Report 2002-td | 56 pages](https://csls.ca/research/raising-canadian-living-standards-a-framework-for-discussion/) [What Explains the Canada-US ICT Investment Intensity Gap? Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) December 2005 | Report 2005-06 | 129 pages](https://csls.ca/research/what-explains-the-canada-us-ict-investment-intensity-gap/) [Canada-U.S. ICT Investment in 2009: The ICT Investment per Worker Gap Widens Andrew Sharpe, Ricardo de Avillez November 2010 | Report 2010-08 | 34 pages](https://csls.ca/research/canada-u-s-ict-investment-in-2009-the-ict-investment-per-worker-gap-widens/) [Living Standards Domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing Andrew Sharpe, Jean-François Arsenault June 2009 | Report 2009-04 | 127 pages](https://csls.ca/research/living-standards-domain-of-the-canadian-index-of-wellbeing/) [Sectoral Contributions to Labour Productivity Growth in Canada: Does the Choice of Decomposition Formula Matter? Ricardo de Avillez December 2012 | Report 2012-09 | 34 pages](https://csls.ca/research/sectoral-contributions-to-labour-productivity-growth-in-canada-does-the-choice-of-decomposition-formula-matter/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn This article examines the significant widening of the Canada-U.S. income gap in the 1990s. Real personal income per capita in Canada fell from 87.2 per cent of the U.S. level in 1989 to 78.1 per cent in 1999 — the largest ten-year decline in recent Canadian economic history. The article analyses three income measures (GDP per capita, personal income per capita, and disposable personal income per capita), and decomposes the gap into contributions from slower productivity growth, poorer employment rate growth, and a more favourable demographic structure. It argues that the income gap is likely to narrow over the next decade due to fiscal improvements, greater employment rate potential, and expected spillovers from the U.S. information technology productivity boom, and discusses the macroeconomic policy implications. Cet article examine l’élargissement important de l’écart de revenu entre le Canada et les États-Unis au cours des années 1990. Le revenu personnel réel par habitant au Canada est passé de 87,2 % du niveau américain en 1989 à 78,1 % en 1999 — le plus fort recul sur dix ans de l’histoire économique canadienne récente. L’article analyse trois mesures du revenu (le PIB par habitant, le revenu personnel par habitant et le revenu personnel disponible par habitant), et décompose l’écart en contributions attribuables à une croissance plus lente de la productivité, à une croissance plus faible du taux d’emploi et à une structure démographique plus favorable. L’article soutient que l’écart de revenu devrait se rétrécir au cours de la prochaine décennie en raison des améliorations budgétaires, d’un potentiel plus élevé du taux d’emploi et des retombées attendues du boom de productivité des technologies de l’information aux États-Unis, et examine les répercussions sur la politique macroéconomique. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2000-01.pdf)