--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-45/a-critical-juncture-assessing-canadas-productivity-performance-and-future-prospects/" title: "A Critical Juncture: Assessing Canada’s Productivity Performance and Future Prospects" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T08:14:58+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-17T09:18:41+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2023" ipm_keyword: - 2060 - "AI" - "Canada" - "digitalization" - "green transition" - "investment" - "OECD" - "productivity" - "small firms" - "structural factors" - "zombie firms" ipm_research_theme: - "Productivity trends and comparisons" ipm_country_focus: - "Canada" - "International" - "OECD" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # A Critical Juncture: Assessing Canada’s Productivity Performance and Future Prospects Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-45/a-critical-juncture-assessing-canadas-productivity-performance-and-future-prospects/ # A Critical Juncture: Assessing Canada’s Productivity Performance and Future Prospects [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-45-3-Rosell-Dowsett-Paterson.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Rosell, Carlos, Kaleigh Dowsett, and Nelson Paterson. 2023. “A Critical Juncture: Assessing Canada’s Productivity Performance and Future Prospects.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 45 (Fall 2023): 61–92. https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-45/a-critical-juncture-assessing-canadas-productivity-performance-and-future-prospects/ ## Authors: - Carlos Rosell Finance Canada - Kaleigh Dowsett Finance Canada - Nelson Paterson Finance Canada ## IPM Issue 45 Fall 2023 pp. 61–92 ## Related IPM articles [Is the SNA Still Useful? 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Additionally, it is recognized that as the transformation brought on by population aging continues, improvements in the living standards of Canadians will increasingly depend on productivity growth. This situation arises at a time when Canada, along with the global economy, is at the forefront of major structural transformations, including the green transition, the realignment of global trade, and the increasing digitization and use of AI. The necessity to adapt to the scale and scope of these transformations will create pressures for all economic actors to make renewed efforts to address Canada’s longstanding productivity challenges. To better understand the direction of Canada’s future productivity growth, this article chronicles Canada’s productivity growth over recent decades and highlights key structural factors that have likely constrained Canada’s productivity performance. We then explore how these factors might shape the trajectory of productivity growth in the context of these impending structural transformations and identify areas where further research should be prioritized. Il est largement reconnu que le Canada fait face à des problèmes de longue date avec la croissance de la productivité, tant par rapport à sa performance passée que par rapport aux autres économies avancées. De plus, il est reconnu qu’à mesure que la transformation engendrée par le vieillissement de la population se poursuit, l’amélioration du niveau de vie des Canadiens dépendra de plus en plus de la croissance de la productivité. Cette situation survient à un moment où le Canada, avec l’économie mondiale, est à l’avant-garde de grandes transformations structurelles, notamment la transition verte, le réalignement du commerce mondial et la numérisation croissante et l’utilisation de l’IA. La nécessité de s’adapter à l’ampleur et à la portée de ces transformations créera des pressions pour que tous les acteurs économiques fassent des efforts renouvelés pour remédier aux problèmes de productivité persistants du Canada. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-45-3-Rosell-Dowsett-Paterson.pdf)