--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-27/the-impact-of-the-oil-boom-on-canadas-labour-productivity-performance-2000-2012/" title: "The Impact of the Oil Boom on Canada’s Labour Productivity Performance, 2000-2012" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:37:57+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:37:57+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2014" ipm_keyword: - "Alberta" - "Canada" - "Dutch disease" - "exchange rate" - "labour productivity" - "manufacturing" - "Newfoundland" - "oil and gas" - "oil boom" - "productivity" ipm_research_theme: - "Sectoral and firm-level dynamics" ipm_country_focus: - "Canada" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # The Impact of the Oil Boom on Canada’s Labour Productivity Performance, 2000-2012 Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-27/the-impact-of-the-oil-boom-on-canadas-labour-productivity-performance-2000-2012/ # The Impact of the Oil Boom on Canada’s Labour Productivity Performance, 2000-2012 [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-27-7-Sharpe-Waslander.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Sharpe, Andrew, and Bert Waslander. 2014. “The Impact of the Oil Boom on Canada’s Labour Productivity Performance, 2000-2012.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 27 (Fall 2014): 40–63. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-27/the-impact-of-the-oil-boom-on-canadas-labour-productivity-performance-2000-2012/ ## Authors: - Andrew Sharpe Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Bert Waslander Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## IPM Issue 27 Fall 2014 pp. 40–63 ## Related IPM articles [The Relationship between Efficiencies Defenses for Mergers and TFP Growth Robin Shaban Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 82–102](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/the-relationship-between-efficiencies-defenses-for-mergers-and-tfp-growth/) [Labour Productivity as a Measure of Technological Change Ulrich Kohli Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 64–81](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/labour-productivity-as-a-measure-of-technological-change/) [Adult Skills and Productivity: New Evidence from PIAAC 2023 Dan Andrews, Balázs Égert, Christine de La Maisonneuve Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 41–63](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/adult-skills-and-productivity-new-evidence-from-piaac-2023/) [Appendix: Variable Definitions and Country/Sector Coverage for Regulatory Reform Analysis Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Giuseppe Nicoletti, Océane Vernerey Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 1–18](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/appendix-variable-definitions-and-country-sector-coverage-for-regulatory-reform-analysis/) [The Potential Impact of Pro-competitive Regulatory Reforms on Productivity and Growth in Canada Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Giuseppe Nicoletti, Océane Vernerey Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 3–40](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/the-potential-impact-of-pro-competitive-regulatory-reforms-on-productivity-and-growth-in-canada/) [IPM Issue 49 Editors’ Overview Andrew Sharpe, Bart van Ark, Paul Schreyer Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 1–2](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/) [De-industrialization and the Great Productivity Slowdown: What Comes Next? Paul Fisher Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 115–138](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/de-industrialization-and-the-great-productivity-slowdown-what-comes-next/) [Appendix: UK Productivity Growth Rates Across Data Vintages and Studies Josh Martin Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 65–73](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/appendix-uk-productivity-growth-rates-across-data-vintages-and-studies/) [Opportunities and Risks of Artificial Intelligence for Productivity Francesco Filippucci, Peter Gal, Katharina Laengle, Matthias Schief, Filiz Unsal Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 1–26](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/opportunities-and-risks-of-artificial-intelligence-for-productivity/) [Using Ecosystem Accounting to Integrate the Environment in Measures of Multifactor Productivity Carl Obst Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 87–108](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/using-ecosystem-accounting-to-integrate-the-environment-in-measures-of-multifactor-productivity/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn The objective of this article is to evaluate the impact of the oil and gas industry on labour productivity growth in Canada since 2000 through an exploration of the various channels, both direct and indirect, by which the oil and gas sector affects aggregate productivity. The article sheds light on the paradoxical lack of a direct negative contribution of the oil and gas sector to aggregate labour productivity growth despite the very large fall in productivity experienced by the sector. It highlights the divergent productivity growth paths for the oil and gas sectors in Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador, which drove the aggregate productivity performance of these two provinces. The article also discusses how developments in the oil and gas industry, notably the increase in the price and production of petroleum, have affected productivity growth in other parts of the economy. OIL AND GAS EXTRACTION IS ONE of Canada’s L’objectif de cet article est d’évaluer l’impact de l’industrie pétrolière et gazière sur la croissance de la productivité du travail au Canada depuis 2000, en explorant les divers canaux, directs et indirects, par lesquels le secteur pétrolier et gazier influe sur la productivité globale. L’article met en lumière l’absence paradoxale d’une contribution négative directe du secteur pétrolier et gazier à la croissance de la productivité globale du travail, malgré le très fort recul de la productivité observé dans ce secteur. Il souligne les trajectoires divergentes de croissance de la productivité du secteur pétrolier et gazier en Alberta et à Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, qui ont déterminé la performance globale de la productivité de ces deux provinces. L’article examine également comment l’évolution de l’industrie pétrolière et gazière a influé sur la croissance de la productivité dans d’autres parties de l’économie. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-27-7-Sharpe-Waslander.pdf)