Core Target 1: Economic Growth

Core Target One is based on growth in inflation-adjusted Gross Domestic Product.

BC placed ninth in the Progress Board's target for economic growth in 2008, down from eighth in 2007. BC's growth rate was slightly below the national average in 2007 and well below in 2008.

The last time BC's real GDP per capita decreased was in 2001 and the last time BC's growth was below Canada's for two years in a row was for 2000 and 2001, the last two of eight years of subpar growth.

BC's level of real GDP per capita was fifth among the provinces in 2008. Alberta placed first and was well ahead of the rest of the country. The difference between first place Alberta and tenth place Prince Edward Island was about $22,000, with BC $15,000 below the top and $8,000 above the bottom extremes.

North American Comparison

In North America, BC earned the 23rd rank for real GDP per capita growth in 2007, down from 9th in 2006.

As with the provincial comparison, BC's rank was more consistent for the level of real GDP per capita. It ranked 48th out of 61 sub-national jurisdictions in Canada and the United States in 2007 and has moved between 49th and 52nd since 1998. BC sits roughly $35,000 below second place Delaware and $8,000 above last place Prince Edward Island.

International Comparison

As with the other comparisons, BC's real GDP growth rate has fluctuated considerably. Ranks range from fifth in 1993 to 29th in 2001; in 2006 BC was eighth.

BC has achieved a relatively high ranking for GDP level. It ranked 13th in 2006 in real GDP per capita among OECD countries, well ahead of last-place Turkey but still lagging considerably behind first place Norway.

BC was ranked 10th for GDP level in 1992 but fell to 13th by 1996 and to a low of 15th place in 2001 due to stagnant growth in the 1990s. Recent growth has helped bring the province's ranking back up amongst the 31 jurisdictions used for the international comparison.