Commission on the Reform of Ontario's Public Services

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CHART 1.1 Ontario’s Foreign Trade Balance and the Dollar
Per Cent of GDP
6
4
2
0
(2)
(4)
(6)
(8)
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Canadian $ in US cents (Right scale)
Ontario’s international trade balance as per cent of GDP (Left scale)
Note: 2011 figures reflect data available for the first three quarters.
Source: Bank of Canada, Provincial Economic Accounts.
US Cents
Ontario’s overall GDP per head relative to the rest of the country reflects the turnaround in
trade. In 1998–2002, Ontario’s GDP per person was 14.1 per cent higher than the average
for the other nine provinces and three territories; in the first three quarters of 2011, it was
6.5 per cent lower. Since 2006, Ontario’s GDP per person has been below the average for
the rest of Canada.
Another way to look at the data is to track the growth of total GDP in current dollars,
because that is the province’s tax base. Since 2002, the year before the dollar began its
ascent, nominal GDP has grown by less than 33 per cent in Ontario, compared with almost
59 per cent in the rest of the country.
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40