The size and cost of public sector employment has a major effect on a government’s bottom line. Atlantic Canada’s provincial governments currently employ 96 people per 1,000 residents. Across Canada, the average size of provincial public sectors is 83 per thousand, or 16 per cent less than in our region.
Employing far more people than the Canadian norm means greater expenses. By restraining government employment to the national per capita average last year, the Atlantic provinces would have saved over two billion dollars.
For better economic health, the provincial governments of Atlantic Canada need to shrink their high level of public sector employment.