Gross domestic product by industry: Provinces and territories, 2024

Released: 2025-05-01

Economic growth maintains pace for Canada in 2024 but varies across provinces and territories

In 2024, real gross domestic product (GDP) grew in every province in Canada as the national real GDP maintained its annual pace from the previous year at 1.6%. While the pace of growth moderated for Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia compared with 2023, GDP grew faster in other provinces, with GDP in Newfoundland and Labrador rebounding in 2024 after declining for two consecutive years.

In the territories, GDP declined in Yukon and the Northwest Territories, while Nunavut almost doubled its growth, increasing 7.5% in 2024 after rising 3.8% in 2023.

Canada's population grew by 1.8% in 2024, a slower pace than in 2023 (+3.1%) and 2022 (+2.5%). Still, this likely contributed to spurring higher output in the service-producing industries. Services bolstered overall economic growth during a challenging year for goods-producing industries in six of the Canadian jurisdictions.

Infographic 1 
Real gross domestic product growth, Canada, provinces and territories, 2024

Ontario, Alberta and Quebec are the largest contributors to economic growth in 2024

Although the Canadian economy grew at a similar pace in 2024 and 2023, the contributions from jurisdictions varied from one year to the other.

In 2024, Ontario (contribution of +0.47 percentage points) was the largest contributor to Canada's economic growth, mainly because of the size of its economy.

Based on the latest Canadian population estimates, the Prairie region accounted for approximately one-fifth (19%) of Canada's population. However, together, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba contributed more than one-third of the 1.6% increase in national GDP in 2024, with Alberta (+0.43 percentage points) contributing almost as much as Ontario.

Quebec (+0.25 percentage points), British Columbia (+0.17 percentage points) and the Atlantic region (+0.12 percentage points), along with Nunavut (+0.01 percentage points), also contributed to national economic growth. In contrast, the Northwest Territories and Yukon (-0.01 percentage points combined) were the only jurisdictions that detracted from national economic growth.

Chart 1 
Provincial and territorial contributions to national percentage change, total economic growth, 2023 and 2024

Services continue to drive growth, but at a slower pace than in 2023 for most of Canada

Growth in the value-added of service-producing industries decelerated in every jurisdiction except Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Quebec, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in 2024.

Although the growth in services kept the real GDP growth of New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia positive, it was not enough to offset the decline in goods production in the Northwest Territories and Yukon.

Prince Edward Island (+2.8%) had the largest increase in services, led by the real estate and rental and leasing (+5.0%) and health care and social assistance (+4.4%) sectors.

After falling in 2023, activity at offices of real estate agents rebounded in 2024 as the Bank of Canada began a series of consecutive interest rate cuts in the middle of the year.

The public sector (consisting of educational services, health care and social assistance, and public administration) was a significant contributor to nationwide growth. However, growth in 2024 slowed relative to 2023 in the provinces (excluding Quebec and New Brunswick) and in the Northwest Territories. Educational services rebounded in Quebec after a strike at elementary and secondary schools late in 2023, while New Brunswick saw public administration, and health care and social assistance increase at a faster pace than 2023 as employment grew, in part to address ongoing shortages in the health care system.

The growth in accommodation and food services slowed across much of the country in 2024. In addition, after strong gains from 2021 to 2023, growth in the motion picture and video exhibition industry slowed in 2024, mainly because of the effects of the Hollywood writers' and actors' strikes in 2023, which led to fewer releases and lower movie theatre attendance in 2024.

Infographic 2 
Top contributing sectors (increasing or decreasing) to the variation in provincial and territorial real gross domestic product, in percentage points, 2024

Variability in output from goods-producing industries across Canada

In 2024, the economic activity from goods-producing industries declined in New Brunswick (-0.4%), Quebec (-0.8%), Ontario (-2.3%), British Columbia (-2.9%), Yukon (-19.9%) and the Northwest Territories (-6.8%), while it rose in all other jurisdictions.

The increased output of goods-producing industries in some jurisdictions contributed to their overall growth, propelling their economies to grow at a faster pace than the national economy.

Infographic 3 
Contributions to percentage change of goods-producing industries and service-producing industries to real gross domestic product, provinces and territories, in percentage points, 2024

The industrial production sector—encompassing output from manufacturing; mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; and utilities—showed increased activity for five provinces and one territory.

Increased output in oil and gas extraction in Alberta (+3.7%), along with a rebound in Newfoundland and Labrador (+4.6%) after three consecutive years of declines, were among the top contributors to growth in these provinces' respective economies.

Mining and quarrying (except oil and gas) was among the top contributors to growth because of increased output in other metal ore mining (+35.5%) and potash mining (+8.3%) in Saskatchewan; gold and silver (+11.9%) and iron ore mining (+5.3%) in Nunavut; and copper, nickel, lead and zinc ore mining production (+33.7%) in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Conversely, mining activity was the top detractor from growth in the Northwest Territories, with a continued decline in diamond production (-11.6%); in Yukon (-33.7%), as operations halted at Eagle Gold Mine; and in Nova Scotia, following the closure of the Touquoy Gold Mine.

Activity in the utilities sector fell in four provinces and two territories, while it rose in other jurisdictions. The utilities sector was the largest detractor from growth in New Brunswick (-18.1%), Newfoundland and Labrador (-7.3%), and Manitoba (-5.1%).

In New Brunswick, the decline was attributable to lower electricity generation and out-of-province sales of electricity for 2024.

Output from the manufacturing sector decreased in five provinces, acting as a drag on growth in British Columbia (-6.2%), Ontario (-4.7%), Saskatchewan (-4.6%), Quebec (-2.6%), and Alberta (-1.1%).

Construction remains volatile in 2024

Construction activity fell in British Columbia (-5.7%), Ontario (-2.0%) and Yukon (-12.4%) in 2024, while it increased in other jurisdictions.

The decline in British Columbia was driven by residential construction (-8.8%) and engineering construction (-9.0%). In Ontario, residential construction declined for the third consecutive year.

In contrast, construction was among the most significant contributors to growth in Prince Edward Island (+12.4%), Saskatchewan (+13.2%), the Northwest Territories (+6.7%) and Nunavut (+26.9%).

The increased construction activity in Prince Edward Island was led by residential construction (+14.4%), as total housing starts recorded the second-highest levels since 1973. Ongoing construction of a new gold mine in Nunavut and a new potash mine in Saskatchewan were among the projects contributing to growth in engineering construction in those jurisdictions.

Infographic 4 
Provincial and territorial dependency on the United States (share of value-added attributed to direct and indirect exports to the United States), 2021

Infographic 5 
Provincial and territorial dependency on the United States (share of total jobs attributed to direct and indirect exports to the United States), 2021

Sustainable development goals

On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations' transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the next 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.

The release on real gross domestic product by industry for provinces and territories is an example of how Statistics Canada supports the reporting on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. This release will be used in helping to measure the following goal:

Contact information

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