Amid an exceptional level of economic and political disruption, research from the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy shows that Canada is a successful country across a range of indicators.

By Showtell Browne and Kevin Page

March 3, 2025

Canadian national spirit is high. The positive emotional reaction to the Team Canada hockey victory over the U.S. in the 4 Nations Face-Off was inspirational and historic. Strong patriotic responses have been ignited by President Donald Trump’s repeated musings about making Canada the 51st state and the use of US “economic force” (including significant tariffs on Canadian imports) to weaken our economy.

Our prime minister and premiers are working together. There is movement on policy prescriptions designed to strengthen our economic sovereignty, including the removal of interprovincial trade barriers, accelerated development of energy pipelines, and trade diversification. Five former prime ministers signed a joint communiqué on the anniversary of our national flag encouraging Canadians to express their love of our country and determination to defend Canadian values and independence. The principal ballot box question for the 2025 federal election is now which leader and party are best positioned to defend Canadian sovereignty.

There is broad consensus that Canada is a country worth celebrating and fighting for. Well- established international rankings affirm Canada’s standing among the great nations of the world. Canada is a successful country — prosperous, progressive and peaceful.

By examining Canada’s performance across five critical dimensions: Economic Indicators, Social Development and Quality of Life, Environmental and Climate Metrics, Global Influence and Security, and Social and Governance Indicators we’ve aimed to contextualize Canada’s achievements and identify areas for improvement. Can we leverage the resurgence of pride and national energy to drive nation-building?

How Canada’s Rankings Were Measured

To provide a robust analysis, we aggregated data from multiple quality sources and applied a min-max normalization formula to ensure comparability across various metrics from 15 peer nations (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States).

Metrics within each category (e.g., economic indicators, etc.) were scaled to a range of 0 to 1, where 0 represents the lowest performance and 1 represents the highest. Rankings were then determined based on these normalized values. This methodological approach ensures each ranking reflects both raw performance and relative standing, highlighting where Canada excels and where it falls short.

The table below provides details on metrics and sources.

 

An Interactive Tableau Dashboard

The IFSD Tableau Dashboard ranks Canada’s performance across five key categories: Economic Indicators, Social Development, Environmental Metrics, Global Influence and Security, and Social and Governance Indicators.

Each category includes multiple sub-metrics, such as GDP per capita, labor force participation, and business efficiency, which are ranked among 15 peer nations. The dashboard provides a clear, data-driven view of Canada’s strengths and areas for improvement, helping policymakers and stakeholders make informed decisions.

IFSD Canadian Standing Dashboard (link)

The Results

The top line (aggregated) results highlight that Canada ranks among the very top countries in the world. With the exception of environmental metrics, Canada ranks consistently among the top one-third to one-half of countries in the 15-nation group.

The countries at the very top of the list are Scandinavian. Their consistent high ranking across indicators highlights the balanced approach to nation-building they have taken in recent decades. This gives credence to the potential for smaller economies to enjoy very high standards of well-being with strong institutions and cohesive cultures supporting common good. They demonstrate that countries can promote both economic growth and environmental sustainability.

Canada’s Strengths and Challenges

Economic Indicators: Steady Performance with Untapped Potential

According to our aggregated data, Canada ranks 5th overall in Economic Indicators, a testament to its foundational stability. Key highlights include:

• *GDP per capita (current US$) (World Bank, 2023): 6th (53,372$), highlighting Canada’s strong economic position and high standard of living.
• Net Migration Percentage (World Bank, 2023): 1st (0.62%), reflecting Canada’s global appeal.
• Labor Force Participation Rate (15-64) (OECD, 2024): 5th for men (83.2%), 4th for women (77.2%), 5th overall (80.2%).
• *World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR): Infrastructure (IMD, 2024): 5th (index score: 68.5), underscoring a solid backbone for economic activity.

Despite these strengths, challenges remain:

• *WCR Business Efficiency (IMD, 2024): 8th (index score: 56.1), signaling the need for greater agility in regulatory frameworks and entrepreneurial support.
• *WCR Government Efficiency (IMD, 2024): 6th (index score: 59.7), a respectable ranking but one that leaves room for improvement.

Immigration remains Canada’s economic linchpin, addressing labor shortages and sustaining GDP growth. However, systemic barriers such as credential-recognition delays, housing shortages, and health-care strains limit the full potential of new arrivals. Aligning immigration policy with infrastructure development is critical to ensuring lasting economic stability and growth.

While Canada cannot match the U.S. in economic scale, it can enhance its competitiveness through innovation, trade expansion, and domestic industry growth. Strengthening key sectors, such as advanced manufacturing, digital services, and clean energy, will position Canada for sustained global success. Canadians are increasingly eager to support Canadian-made goods and services, and strengthening domestic production while expanding global exports presents an opportunity for economic resilience. By fostering innovation and leveraging global demand for Canadian technology, natural resources, and sustainable industries, Canada can further enhance its economic rankings while ensuring long-term stability in an evolving global economy.

Social Development and Quality of Life: Progress Amid Complex Challenges

Canada’s 6th-place ranking in Social Development and Quality of Life reflects a mixed performance across a variety of metrics. While the country shows strong outcomes in some areas, it struggles to achieve consistent excellence across the board. This divergence highlights both opportunities for progress and areas where systemic issues persist.

Strengths:

• Mean Years of Schooling (Human Development Index, UNDP, 2022): Ranked 2nd (13.9 years), demonstrating Canada’s commitment to accessible and high-quality education.
• *Quality of Life (U.S. News, 2023): Ranked 3rd (index score: 94.2), emphasizing Canada’s reputation for safety, job market strength, and overall livability.
• *Human Development Index (UNDP, 2022): Ranked 7th (index score: 0.935), signaling a strong combination of education, health, and income metrics.

Challenges:

• Expected Years of Schooling (Human Development Index, UNDP, 2022): Ranked 10th (16 years), highlighting disparities in post-secondary participation and education access for marginalized groups, such as Indigenous populations and rural communities.
• Healthcare Index (Quality of Life Index, Numbeo, 2024 Mid-Year): Ranked 9th (index score: 69.1), reflecting inefficiencies like long wait times, gaps in mental health services, and unequal access for remote regions.
• *Quality of Life Index (Numbeo, 2024 Mid-Year): Ranked 9th (index score: 161.3), indicating that rising costs of living and housing affordability issues are impacting Canadians’ perceived quality of life.
• Fertility Rate (World Bank Group, 2022): Ranked 11th (1.3 births per woman), underscoring broader societal pressures like economic insecurity, work-life balance challenges, and the high cost of raising children.

While Canada’s 6th-place ranking in this category reflects a relatively strong global standing, deeper challenges persist. Soaring housing costs, rising living expenses, and health care inefficiencies are putting pressure on Canadians, reducing disposable income and making it harder for families to thrive.

One of the clearest signs of this strain is Canada’s declining fertility rate. High housing prices, costly childcare, and economic uncertainty have made it increasingly difficult for younger Canadians to start families. But this isn’t just a demographic issue, it’s a sign of a growing lack of confidence in the future, a concern shared across generations.

The Quality of Life Discrepancy

Canada’s varying rankings across quality of life indices further illustrate these complexities:

• U.S. News & World Report (3rd) emphasizes strong governance, safety, and job opportunities.
• CEO World (6th) highlights overall living conditions, but perceptions of affordability lower the score.
• Numbeo (9th) reflects dissatisfaction with costs of living, housing, and healthcare efficiency.

These discrepancies suggest that while Canada is globally respected for its safety and stability, domestic challenges are eroding the lived experiences of many Canadians. This duality of global admiration versus internal dissatisfaction requires thoughtful policy interventions to bridge the gap.

A Path Forward: Addressing these challenges goes beyond improving rankings; it’s about creating a society where all Canadians feel secure, valued, and optimistic about their future. Key priorities include:

• Affordability: Increasing access to affordable housing and reducing costs of living.
• Health care: Expanding access to mental health services, reducing wait times, and investing in rural health care infrastructure.
• Education: Improving post-secondary participation and reducing barriers for underrepresented groups.
• Family Support: Implementing robust parental leave policies, subsidizing childcare, and incentivizing family growth through targeted support.

By tackling these systemic gaps, Canada can build on its strengths while addressing the persistent challenges that hinder its progress. Achieving a higher quality of life for all Canadians is not just a moral imperative, it is the foundation of a strong, fair, and thriving society

Environmental and Climate Metrics: Urgency for Action

Based on our aggregate data, Canada ranks 14th out of 15 in environmental performance, marking its greatest weakness. With an aggregate environmental score of 0.36 compared to Sweden’s 0.944, Canada lags significantly behind global leaders in climate action. Key issues include:

• *Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI, 2024): 15th (index score: 31.55), reflecting inadequate progress on emissions reduction.
• Ecosystem Vitality (Environmental Performance Index, EPI, 2024): 10th (index score: 60.4), highlighting pressures from resource extraction.
• *Environmental Performance Index (EPI, 2024): 9th (index score: 61.1), highlighting deficiencies in air and water pollution, waste management, and biodiversity protection.

However, Canada’s 6th-place ranking in Environmental Health (Environmental Performance Index, EPI, 2024) with an index score of 77.7, demonstrates relative success in minimizing pollution-related health risks, providing a foundation for progress. To align economic growth with sustainability, Canada must accelerate investments in renewable energy, restore ecosystems, and reform resource management practices. Strengthening national standards on carbon pricing, emissions reduction, and green innovation can bridge provincial disparities and position Canada as a global leader in sustainability.

Global Influence and Security: A Model of Diplomacy and Soft Power

Canada ranks 5th, leveraging its reputation for peacekeeping and global partnerships:

• *Global Peace Index (Institute for Economics & Peace, 2024): 1st (index score: 1.45), affirming its role as a leader in conflict resolution and peacekeeping.
• *Global Health Security Index (GHS Index, 2021): 4th (index score: 69.8), reflecting its strong contributions to humanitarian efforts and global preparedness.
• *Military expenditure (% of GDP) (World Bank, 2022): 12th (1.237%), reflecting Canada’s low defense spending and reliance on diplomacy and peacekeeping.

Canada’s approach to global influence emphasizes soft power and multilateral cooperation over military dominance. As a key member of organizations like NATO, the United Nations, the G7, the G20, APEC and La Francophonie, Canada amplifies its impact through strategic alliances, playing a vital role in peacekeeping missions, disaster response, and international stability. This strategy allows Canada to maintain its leadership while relying on collaborative defense frameworks.

However, Canada’s 12th-place ranking in military expenditure underscores a potential vulnerability that has dominated the country’s recent security discourse. While soft power remains effective, emerging threats in areas such as the Arctic and cybersecurity demand targeted investments. The Arctic’s strategic importance continues to grow with shifting geopolitics, climate change and new shipping routes, requiring infrastructure and surveillance to safeguard sovereignty. Similarly, as cyber threats escalate, strengthening digital defenses is critical to protecting Canada’s systems and reinforcing its global reputation as a secure and technologically advanced nation.

By balancing its strengths in diplomacy and multilateralism with investments in these strategic areas, Canada can address future challenges while maintaining its global influence and soft-power leadership.

Social and Governance Indicators: Leadership with Room for Inclusivity

Canada’s 6th place ranking in this category highlights its robust governance:

• *Corruption Perception Index (Transparency International, 2024): 5th (index score: 75), reflecting strong institutional transparency.
• *World Happiness Report (World Happiness Report, 2024): 5th (index score: 6.90), underscoring Canada’s strong social well being and quality of life.
• *Global Gender Gap (World Economic Forum, 2023): 7th (index score: 0.77), emphasizing progress with persistent disparities.

Addressing gaps in workforce inclusivity and gender equity, particularly in leadership and high growth sectors, will unlock further potential for economic and social progress.

Bridging Gaps for a Resilient Future

Canada’s global standing reflects both its strengths and areas for growth. With top-tier rankings in peacekeeping, education, and global partnerships, the country demonstrates leadership through diplomacy, inclusivity, and innovation. However, challenges in affordability, health care, environmental sustainability, and inclusivity reveal vulnerabilities that demand urgent attention.

To secure a resilient future, Canada must embrace opportunities for leadership by addressing these systemic gaps:

• Affordability and Quality of Life: Expand affordable housing, enhance healthcare efficiency, and support family growth to rebuild confidence in the future.
• Environmental Sustainability: Invest in renewable energy and conservation to transform its weakest dimension into a strength.
• Strategic Security: Balance soft power with targeted investments in Arctic sovereignty and cybersecurity to safeguard its influence.
• Equity and Inclusivity: Advance gender equity and workforce inclusivity, unlocking untapped potential for economic and social progress.

Canada is at a crossroads. Its global standing reflects both remarkable strengths and urgent challenges, a top performer in diplomacy and governance, yet trailing in environmental sustainability and economic agility. The choices made today will define whether Canada remains complacent or takes bold steps toward global leadership.

The path forward is clear: close the environmental gap, expand economic potential, and reinforce Canada’s influence on the world stage. This is not just about rankings, it’s about securing a stronger, more resilient future for all Canadians.

As the world shifts and new challenges emerge, Canada must not just adapt, but lead. Through deliberate investment, strategic policymaking, and national ambition, Canada can not only rise in global rankings, but shape the future as a nation that others look to as a model of progress, equity, and innovation.

Kevin Page is the President of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy at the University of Ottawa, former Parliamentary Budget Officer and a Contributing Writer for Policy Magazine.

Showtell Browne is an undergraduate economics student at the University of Ottawa. He will graduate in 2025.