--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/the-impact-of-the-oil-boom-on-canadas-labour-productivity-performance-2000-2012/" title: "The Impact of the Oil Boom on Canada’s Labour Productivity Performance, 2000-2012" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-02T12:55:15+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-07T08:09:12+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "" post_tag: - "Alberta" - "Canada" - "Dutch disease" - "labour productivity" - "manufacturing" - "Newfoundland" - "oil and gas extraction" - "oil boom" - "productivity decomposition" country_focus: - "Canada" province_region: - "National" research_theme: - "Productivity and Economic Measurement" - "Sector/Industry Analysis" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/old-reports_hero_banner_bg.webp" status: "publish" --- # The Impact of the Oil Boom on Canada’s Labour Productivity Performance, 2000-2012 Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/the-impact-of-the-oil-boom-on-canadas-labour-productivity-performance-2000-2012/ # The Impact of the Oil Boom on Canada’s Labour Productivity Performance, 2000-2012 [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2014-05-1.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Sharpe, Andrew, and Bert Waslander. 2014. “The Impact of the Oil Boom on Canada’s Labour Productivity Performance, 2000-2012.” CSLS Research Report 2014-05. Ottawa: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. https://csls.ca/research/the-impact-of-the-oil-boom-on-canadas-labour-productivity-performance-2000-2012/ ## Authors: - Andrew Sharpe Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Bert Waslander Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## Report 2014-05 December 2014 103 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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The report sheds light on the paradoxical lack of a direct negative contribution of the oil and gas sector to aggregate labour productivity growth despite the very large fall in productivity experienced by the sector. It highlights the divergent productivity growth paths for the oil and gas sectors in Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador, which drove the aggregate productivity performance of these two provinces. The report also discusses how developments in the oil and gas industry, notably the increase in the price and production of petroleum, have affected productivity growth in other parts of the economy. It finds that the oil boom has had a substantial negative effect on the cost competitiveness of manufacturing by putting upward pressure on the value of the Canadian dollar – the so-called Dutch Disease. Counteracting this are positive effects associated with demand and incomes generated by the oil boom, as well as increases in spending on R&D and education by the major oil-producing provinces. L’objectif de ce rapport est d’évaluer l’incidence de l’industrie pétrolière et gazière sur la croissance de la productivité du travail au Canada depuis 2000, en explorant les divers canaux, directs et indirects, par lesquels le secteur pétrolier et gazier influe sur la productivité globale. Le rapport met en lumière l’absence paradoxale de contribution négative directe du secteur pétrolier et gazier à la croissance de la productivité globale du travail, malgré le très fort recul de la productivité observé dans ce secteur. Il met en évidence les trajectoires divergentes de croissance de la productivité du secteur pétrolier et gazier en Alberta et à Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, qui ont déterminé la performance globale de la productivité de ces deux provinces. Le rapport examine également comment l’évolution de l’industrie pétrolière et gazière, notamment la hausse du prix et de la production du pétrole, a influé sur la croissance de la productivité dans d’autres secteurs de l’économie. Il constate que le boom pétrolier a eu un effet négatif important sur la compétitivité-coût du secteur manufacturier en exerçant une pression à la hausse sur la valeur du dollar canadien — le phénomène dit du « mal hollandais ». Cet effet est contrebalancé par des effets positifs liés à la demande et aux revenus générés par le boom pétrolier, ainsi qu’à la hausse des dépenses en R-D et en éducation des principales provinces productrices de pétrole. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2014-05-1.pdf)