--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/the-canadian-productivity-landscape-an-overview/" title: "The Canadian Productivity Landscape: an Overview" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-01T11:29:29+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-16T09:46:42+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "" post_tag: - "Canada" - "industries" - "labour productivity" - "measurement" - "OECD" - "productivity" - "provinces" - "total factor productivity" country_focus: - "Canada" province_region: - "National" research_theme: - "Productivity and Economic Measurement" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/old-reports_hero_banner_bg.webp" status: "publish" --- # The Canadian Productivity Landscape: an Overview Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/the-canadian-productivity-landscape-an-overview/ # The Canadian Productivity Landscape: an Overview [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2024-03-1.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Sharpe, Andrew, and Tim Sargent. 2024. “The Canadian Productivity Landscape: an Overview.” CSLS Research Report 2024-03. Ottawa: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. https://csls.ca/research/the-canadian-productivity-landscape-an-overview/ ## Authors: - Andrew Sharpe Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Tim Sargent Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS); Macdonald-Laurier Institute ## Report 2024-03 January 2024 24 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/) [Productivity Trends: A Canada-U.S. Comparison Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) January 1999 | Report 1999-01 | 6 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-trends-a-canada-u-s-comparison/) [New Estimates of Manufacturing Productivity Growth for Canada and the United States Andrew Sharpe March 1999 | Report 1999-02 | 21 pages](https://csls.ca/research/new-estimates-of-manufacturing-productivity-growth-for-canada-and-the-united-states/) [Apprenticeship in Canada: A Training System Under Siege? 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It provides an overview of basic concepts, metrics, trends, and types of analysis found in productivity discussion in Canada. Topics covered include productivity concepts and definitions, why productivity is important, measurement issues, data sources, Canada’s aggregate productivity performance (growth rates and levels), within-sector and reallocation effects, international comparisons with OECD countries, industry productivity trends, provincial productivity growth, and sources of labour productivity growth. Cet article présente un portrait complet mais accessible du paysage de la productivité au Canada, y compris l’évolution de la productivité et ses explications immédiates. Il offre un aperçu des concepts de base, des mesures, des tendances et des types d’analyses que l’on retrouve dans les discussions sur la productivité au Canada. Les sujets abordés comprennent les concepts et définitions de la productivité, l’importance de la productivité, les enjeux de mesure, les sources de données, la performance globale du Canada en matière de productivité (taux de croissance et niveaux), les effets intrasectoriels et de réaffectation, les comparaisons internationales avec les pays de l’OCDE, les tendances de la productivité par industrie, la croissance de la productivité provinciale, ainsi que les sources de la croissance de la productivité du travail. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2024-03-1.pdf)