The size and cost of Manitoba's public sector

Summary: Many observers of Manitoba's economy and politics have suggested that Manitoba's public sector is abnormally large by Canadian standards and that the province's high level of government employment hinders economic performance. In this policy series, we empirically assess the claim that Manitoba's public sector is unusually large. Specifically, we examine patterns of public sector employment in Manitoba compared with other Canadian jurisdictions. Our analysis of Statistics Canada data shows that Manitoba's government sector is indeed much larger than that of most other provinces. Specifically, the rate of government employment at the combined provincial and local levels relative to population is high by Canadian standards. This paper also examines the cost to taxpayers of maintaining this high rate of public sector employment and finds that it is significant.