--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-7/the-growth-story-canadas-long-run-economic-performance-and-prospects/" title: "The Growth Story: Canada’s Long-run Economic Performance and Prospects" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T05:43:04+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T06:41:27+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2003" ipm_keyword: - "Canada" - "capital investment" - "demographics" - "economic growth" - "human capital" - "innovation" - "long-run growth" - "OECD" - "productivity" - "trade" ipm_research_theme: - "Productivity trends and comparisons" ipm_country_focus: - "Canada" - "OECD" - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # The Growth Story: Canada’s Long-run Economic Performance and Prospects Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-7/the-growth-story-canadas-long-run-economic-performance-and-prospects/ # The Growth Story: Canada’s Long-run Economic Performance and Prospects [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-7-1-Nicholson.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Nicholson, Peter. 2003. “The Growth Story: Canada’s Long-run Economic Performance and Prospects.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 7 (Fall 2003): 3–23. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-7/the-growth-story-canadas-long-run-economic-performance-and-prospects/ ## Author: - Peter Nicholson Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of the OECD; Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada ## IPM Issue 7 Fall 2003 pp. 3–23 ## Related IPM articles [Is the SNA Still Useful? 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The author argues that Canada has performed remarkably well since the mid-1990s, reversing a 15-year economic decline from the late 1970s, and that by OECD pro-growth policy standards Canada is doing most things right. A scorecard gives Canada three stars for sound macro policies, human capital, and trade exposure; two stars for productive investment; and one star for innovation. However, the author cautions that the productivity gap with the United States remains large and growing, and that demographic pressures make raising productivity growth an increasing social and political necessity. Cet article examine la performance économique à long terme du Canada et ses perspectives à travers le prisme du cadre du projet de croissance de l’OCDE. L’auteur soutient que le Canada a affiché d’excellentes performances depuis le milieu des années 1990, inversant un déclin économique de 15 ans amorcé à la fin des années 1970, et que selon les critères de politique favorable à la croissance de l’OCDE, le Canada fait la plupart des choses correctement. Un tableau de bord attribue au Canada trois étoiles pour la solidité des politiques macroéconomiques, le capital humain et l’exposition au commerce; deux étoiles pour l’investissement productif; et une étoile pour l’innovation. Cependant, l’auteur prévient que l’écart de productivité avec les États-Unis demeure important et se creuse, et que les pressions démographiques font de la hausse de la croissance de la productivité une nécessité sociale et politique croissante. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-7-1-Nicholson.pdf)