--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-45/decomposing-canadas-post-2000-productivity-performance-and-pandemic-era-productivity-slowdown/" title: "Decomposing Canada’s Post-2000 Productivity Performance and Pandemic-Era Productivity Slowdown" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T08:14:58+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-17T09:09:48+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2023" ipm_keyword: - "Canada" - "capital intensity" - "CSLS" - "growth accounting" - "labour quality" - "MFP" - "OECD comparison" - "pandemic" - "post-2000" - "productivity slowdown" - "sector decomposition" ipm_research_theme: - "Productivity trends and comparisons" ipm_country_focus: - "Canada" - "International" - "OECD" - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Decomposing Canada’s Post-2000 Productivity Performance and Pandemic-Era Productivity Slowdown Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-45/decomposing-canadas-post-2000-productivity-performance-and-pandemic-era-productivity-slowdown/ # Decomposing Canada’s Post-2000 Productivity Performance and Pandemic-Era Productivity Slowdown [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-45-1-Haun-Sargent.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Haun, Chris, and Tim Sargent. 2023. “Decomposing Canada’s Post-2000 Productivity Performance and Pandemic-Era Productivity Slowdown.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 45 (Fall 2023): 5–27. https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-45/decomposing-canadas-post-2000-productivity-performance-and-pandemic-era-productivity-slowdown/ ## Authors: - Chris Haun Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Tim Sargent Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS); Macdonald-Laurier Institute ## IPM Issue 45 Fall 2023 pp. 5–27 ## 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/) [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/) [The UK Productivity Slowdown: A Review of Timing, Magnitude, and Drivers Josh Martin Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 1–34](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/the-uk-productivity-slowdown-a-review-of-timing-magnitude-and-drivers/) [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/) [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/) [Eroding Natural Capital: An Alternative Explanation for the Secular Decline in Productivity Growth Christina Caron Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 109–147](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/eroding-natural-capital-an-alternative-explanation-for-the-secular-decline-in-productivity-growth/) [Climate Change and Productivity — An Exploration Dirk Pilat Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 54–86](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/climate-change-and-productivity-an-exploration/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn Labour productivity growth in Canada has been significantly lower since 2000, and has fallen further since 2019. In this article we examine why this has occurred. We approach the question from three angles: first we look at how Canada’s performance compares to other OECD countries, particularly the United States; second, we decompose Canadian productivity growth by sector, and look to see to what extent slower productivity growth is due to lower growth within sectors, or reallocations across sectors; and finally we perform a growth accounting exercise in order to understand the relative contributions of multifactor productivity, capital intensity and labour quality. We find that Canada’s productivity growth since 2000 has been similar to peer countries, but that the level of productivity is lower than for almost all other peer countries. Weak productivity growth after 2000 is largely attributable to weak productivity within sectors rather than sectoral reallocation. We also find that the slowdown in productivity growth post-2000 relative to 1981-2000 is largely a result of declines in multifactor productivity. However, during the latter part of the post-2000 period there was a pronounced slowdown in capital growth, particularly in ICT, that put downward pressure on productivity growth. More recently, productivity growth over the 2019-2022 period has been very weak. As a result, returning even to the pre-pandemic levels of productivity growth in the near term will be challenging. La croissance de la productivité du travail au Canada a été significativement plus faible depuis 2000 et a encore reculé depuis 2019. Dans cet article, nous examinons pourquoi cela s’est produit. Nous abordons la question sous trois angles : premièrement, nous comparons la performance du Canada à celle d’autres pays de l’OCDE, notamment les États-Unis; deuxièmement, nous décomposons la croissance de la productivité canadienne par secteur et cherchons à déterminer dans quelle mesure le ralentissement est dû à une plus faible croissance au sein des secteurs ou à des réaffectations entre secteurs; et enfin, nous effectuons un exercice de comptabilité de la croissance pour comprendre les contributions relatives de la productivité multifactorielle, de l’intensité capitalistique et de la qualité de la main-d’œuvre. Nous constatons que la croissance de la productivité du Canada depuis 2000 a été similaire à celle des pays pairs, mais que le niveau de productivité a davantage stagné. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-45-1-Haun-Sargent.pdf)