--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/decomposing-multifactor-productivity-growth-in-canada-by-industry-and-province-1997-2014/" title: "Decomposing Multifactor Productivity Growth in Canada by Industry and Province, 1997-2014" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-02T12:42:19+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-02T12:42:19+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "" post_tag: - "Canada" - "decomposition" - "GEAD" - "industry" - "manufacturing" - "mining" - "multifactor productivity" - "oil and gas" - "province" country_focus: - "Canada" province_region: - "Multi-province" research_theme: - "Productivity and Economic Measurement" - "Regional Economic Development" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/old-reports_hero_banner_bg.webp" status: "publish" --- # Decomposing Multifactor Productivity Growth in Canada by Industry and Province, 1997-2014 Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/decomposing-multifactor-productivity-growth-in-canada-by-industry-and-province-1997-2014/ # Decomposing Multifactor Productivity Growth in Canada by Industry and Province, 1997-2014 [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2016-19-1.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Calver, Matthew, and Alexander Murray. 2016. “Decomposing Multifactor Productivity Growth in Canada by Industry and Province, 1997-2014.” CSLS Research Report 2016-19. Ottawa: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. https://csls.ca/research/decomposing-multifactor-productivity-growth-in-canada-by-industry-and-province-1997-2014/ ## Authors: - Matthew Calver Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Alexander Murray Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## Report 2016-19 December 2016 77 pages ## Related research [Measuring the Appropriate Outcomes for Better Decision-Making: A Framework to Guide the Analysis of Health Policy Matthew Calver March 2016 | Report 2016-03 | 132 pages](https://csls.ca/research/measuring-the-appropriate-outcomes-for-better-decision-making-a-framework-to-guide-the-analysis-of-health-policy-2016-03/) [Living Standards Domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing Andrew Sharpe, Christopher Ross November 2011 | Report 2011-17 | 124 pages](https://csls.ca/research/living-standards-domain-of-the-canadian-index-of-wellbeing-2011-17/) [Productivity: Key to Economic Success Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) March 1998 | Report 1998-01 | 99 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-key-to-economic-success/) [Apprenticeship in Canada: A Training System Under Siege? 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In this report, we decompose aggregate MFP growth into contributions by industry and province. Two sets of results are presented: one based on the generalized exactly additive decomposition (GEAD) and one based on the CSLS decomposition. The two decomposition methods lead to very different conclusions. The GEAD suggests that the reallocation of inputs to the mining and oil and gas extraction industry in the oil-rich provinces were the primary drivers of MFP growth in Canada while the manufacturing sector, concentrated in Ontario and Quebec, dragged MFP growth down. The CSLS decomposition suggests precisely the opposite: mining and oil and gas was the main hindrance to Canada’s MFP performance while manufacturing was the major driver of MFP growth. The disagreement between the two methods is primarily attributable to the fact that the large increase in commodity prices (especially oil prices) over the 1997-2014 period increases the mining and oil and gas industry’s contribution to MFP growth according to the GEAD while the CSLS decomposition does not treat such relative price effects as contributors to productivity growth. Entre 1997 et 2014, la productivité multifactorielle (PMF) des industries du secteur des entreprises au Canada a augmenté à un taux annuel de 0,02 % par année — essentiellement nul. Dans ce rapport, nous décomposons la croissance globale de la PMF en contributions par industrie et par province. Deux ensembles de résultats sont présentés : l’un fondé sur la décomposition généralisée exactement additive (DGEA) et l’autre sur la décomposition du CSLS. Les deux méthodes de décomposition mènent à des conclusions très différentes. La DGEA suggère que la réaffectation des intrants vers l’industrie de l’extraction minière, pétrolière et gazière dans les provinces riches en pétrole a été le principal moteur de la croissance de la PMF au Canada, tandis que le secteur manufacturier, concentré en Ontario et au Québec, a freiné la croissance de la PMF. La décomposition du CSLS suggère exactement le contraire : l’extraction minière, pétrolière et gazière a été le principal frein à la performance de la PMF du Canada, tandis que le secteur manufacturier en a été le principal moteur. Le désaccord entre les deux méthodes s’explique principalement par le fait que la forte hausse des prix des produits de base (en particulier le pétrole) durant la période 1997-2014 accroît la contribution de l’industrie minière, pétrolière et gazière à la croissance de la PMF selon la DGEA, alors que la décomposition du CSLS ne considère pas de tels effets de prix relatifs comme des contributeurs à la croissance de la productivité. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2016-19-1.pdf)