--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/how-does-industrial-policy-impact-output-hours-and-productivity-the-canadian-experience/" title: "How Does Industrial Policy Impact Output, Hours and Productivity? The Canadian Experience" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T08:15:24+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-17T09:59:21+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2024" ipm_keyword: - "aerospace" - "aluminum" - "automotive" - "Canada" - "hours" - "industrial policy" - "Macdonald-Laurier" - "output" - "productivity" - "steel" ipm_research_theme: - "Policy and institutions" ipm_country_focus: - "Canada" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # How Does Industrial Policy Impact Output, Hours and Productivity? The Canadian Experience Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/how-does-industrial-policy-impact-output-hours-and-productivity-the-canadian-experience/ # How Does Industrial Policy Impact Output, Hours and Productivity? The Canadian Experience [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-47-3-Sargent.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Sargent, Tim. 2024. “How Does Industrial Policy Impact Output, Hours and Productivity? The Canadian Experience.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 47 (Fall 2024): 39–53. https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/how-does-industrial-policy-impact-output-hours-and-productivity-the-canadian-experience/ ## Author: - Tim Sargent Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS); Macdonald-Laurier Institute ## IPM Issue 47 Fall 2024 pp. 39–53 ## 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/) [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/) [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/) [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 The article looks at the Canadian experience with industrial policy, and whether those industries that have been the principal focus of industrial policy have performed better than comparable sectors. It outlines the history of industrial policy in Canada and examine the empirical performance of four sectors: steel mills, aluminum smelting, auto assembly and aerospace. It finds that while the aluminum industry has performed better than comparable industries in terms of output, total hours worked and productivity, the same is not true of the other three sectors, which have had a relatively disappointing performance. While the analysis cannot unequivocally prove that industrial policy impact positively or negatively on productivity growth, it acknowledges the possibility that performance could have been worse without such policies. The article also highlights that industrial policy can maintain higher overall productivity by supporting high-productivity industries, preventing their decline. L’article examine l’expérience canadienne en matière de politique industrielle et si les industries qui ont été au cœur de la politique industrielle ont mieux performé que les secteurs comparables. Il trace l’historique de la politique industrielle au Canada et examine la performance empirique de quatre secteurs : les aciéries, la fusion de l’aluminium, l’assemblage automobile et l’aérospatiale. Il constate que si l’industrie de l’aluminium a mieux performé que les industries comparables en termes de production, d’heures totales travaillées et de productivité, il n’en va pas de même pour les trois autres secteurs, qui ont affiché une performance relativement décevante. L’analyse ne peut pas prouver sans équivoque que la politique industrielle a eu un impact positif ou négatif sur la croissance de la productivité. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-47-3-Sargent.pdf)