Canada may be slipping in some global rankings, but the same data show it remains remarkably strong in several areas that rarely make the headlines.
The classroom advantage
Canada is one of the most educated countries in the developed world. According to OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) data from 2024, 64.7% of Canadians between the ages of 25 and 64 had completed tertiary studies, the largest share of any of the 40 OECD and partner countries with available data. It was even higher among Canadians aged 25 to 34, at 68.9%.
Canada has its fair share of issues with education, including skills mismatch and whether credentials actually lead to stronger productivity. But few countries can rival Canada when it comes to the percentage of adults that learn beyond high school.
Freedom still travels well
Canadians often argue over whether or not our freedoms are being eroded. On the global stage, Canada is and remains one of the freest countries in the world. In 2025, Canada was ranked 12th out of 165 jurisdictions in the Human Freedom Index; countries ranked ahead of Canada include the United States, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and France.
The Index measures many facets of freedom well beyond voting in elections, including expression, movement, association, religion, personal safety and economic freedom.
Democracy is holding up
Political discontent can make Canada’s political system seem broken from within the country, but Canada continues to rank among the highest in international democratic comparisons. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2025 Democracy Index ranked Canada the ninth most democratic country in the world, up from 14th place in the last edition with a score of 9.08 out of 10.
Canada remains in the minority of countries listed as being a full democracy. The Index measures elections, civil liberties, political participation, political culture, and government functioning.
The power coming from water
Canada has one advantage that would be very hard for other countries to replicate: our electricity system centers around vast hydroelectric resources. Even after years of drought reduced hydro output, Statistics Canada found our hydroelectricity generation accounted for 54.9% of electricity in 2025.
That was actually the lowest share seen since Statistics Canada began tracking this data in 2016, but was still the largest source of electricity in Canada by a wide margin.
Business still has room to breathe
Canada’s productivity struggles are cause for concern. They should not, however, be taken as evidence that Canada has become a repressed economy. The 2025 Economic Freedom of the World index ranked Canada 11th out of 165 jurisdictions using the most recently available comparable data.
This puts Canada ahead of the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, South Korea and France. Factors measured by the index include property rights, limited government (including regulation), freedom to trade internationally, and personal choice.
The air remains an advantage
Canada fares better still when you think about the environment in terms of human health. Canada ranks 9th on the Environmental Performance Index in both Environmental Health and Air Quality, its categories most directly related to health outcomes, despite ranking much lower, 29th overall, on its environmental index.
Canada lags on many environmental issues, but most Canadians still breathe air that is relatively clean compared with other developed countries. Average exposure to fine particulate matter (or PM2.5), according to OECD data, is just 6.3 micrograms per cubic metre in Canada, versus an OECD average of 11.2.
One little booklet still carries enormous weight
Despite frequent claims that Canada’s global influence is waning, its passport is stronger than ever. In the July 2026 Henley Passport Index, Canada sits in seventh place globally, beating out our neighbours to the south who rank 10th. Canada has held a spot in the Passport Index’s global top 10 since it was first created in 2006, though it has shifted places throughout the years.
While passport power doesn’t carry the weight of productivity or housing affordability, it is something tangibly valuable to regular Canadians: incredible freedom to travel the world visa-free.
The money still backs new ideas
Canada fell from 14th to 17th place overall in the WIPO’s 2025 Global Innovation Index, but some of the indicators within that decline were surprisingly positive. Canada placed eighth overall for market sophistication globally, sixth for university-industry research collaboration, and eighth for “knowledge absorption,” including things like late-stage venture-capital deals. Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver were also all ranked in the top 100 global innovation clusters.
Where Canada really struggles, the index shows, is turning those ingredients into measurable economic production: Canada ranked 101st when it came to growth in labour productivity.
People still trust the system
Canadians may not always sound like they have a great deal of faith in government. But compared with other developed countries, Canadians tend to have relatively high confidence in their major institutions.
In a recent survey by the OECD in 2025, 50% of Canadians said they had either a lot or quite a lot of trust in federal government, which was higher than the OECD average of 40%. Canadians expressed even greater trust in some institutions; 65% expressed trust in police, and 61% trust courts and the judicial system.
A reputation that still travels well
Canada’s reputation abroad is likely its biggest remaining soft-power asset, despite the country slipping in the overall rankings. Canada placed eighth on the 2026 Global Soft Power Index. However, it ranked third on the overall Reputation, as well as third for People & Values and fifth for Governance.
Canada placed first for being seen as tolerant and inclusive, fifth for being viewed as trustworthy, and third for political stability and being well governed. These results help show why Canada’s brand is so strong internationally.
The Canadian model others study
Canada has quietly earned an international reputation for how its large pension funds are managed. Known as the Canadian pension model, large funds benefit from professional management, a high degree of independence from daily political meddling, and flexibility to invest directly in assets like infrastructure, real estate, and privately held companies worldwide.
Canada has also been ranked the highest among countries by the Global Pension Transparency Benchmark for four years running, with CPP Investments ranking second among all funds in the 2024 benchmark.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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