--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/three-policies-to-improve-productivity-growth-in-canada/" title: "Three Policies to Improve Productivity Growth in Canada" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-02T13:41:22+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-02T13:41:22+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "" post_tag: - "Canada" - "interprovincial migration" - "labour mobility" - "machinery and equipment" - "productivity" - "provincial sales tax" - "technology diffusion" country_focus: - "Canada" province_region: - "National" research_theme: - "Fiscal Policy" - "Productivity and Economic Measurement" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/old-reports_hero_banner_bg.webp" status: "publish" --- # Three Policies to Improve Productivity Growth in Canada Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/three-policies-to-improve-productivity-growth-in-canada/ # Three Policies to Improve Productivity Growth in Canada [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2007-05-1.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Sharpe, Andrew. 2007. “Three Policies to Improve Productivity Growth in Canada.” CSLS Research Report 2007-05. Ottawa: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. https://csls.ca/research/three-policies-to-improve-productivity-growth-in-canada/ ## Author: - Andrew Sharpe Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## Report 2007-05 December 2007 49 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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It then puts forward three specific policies to improve Canada’s productivity performance: foster the diffusion of best-practice technologies; remove the provincial sales tax on purchases of machinery and equipment; and promote interprovincial movement of workers by improving labour market information, removing professional barriers to labour mobility, and establishing a tax credit for interprovincial job search. It finds that the short-term costs of these policies would be greatly outweighed by the long-term benefits associated with their implementation. Ce rapport défend l’idée selon laquelle la destinée économique du Canada repose sur la croissance de sa productivité et que, étant donné sa piètre performance à ce chapitre, tant sur le plan historique qu’international, cette croissance représente le plus grand défi économique du pays. Il propose ensuite trois politiques précises pour améliorer la performance du Canada en matière de productivité : favoriser la diffusion des technologies les plus avancées; éliminer la taxe de vente provinciale sur les achats de machines et de matériel; et favoriser la mobilité interprovinciale des travailleurs en améliorant l’information sur le marché du travail, en éliminant les obstacles professionnels à la mobilité de la main-d’œuvre, et en instaurant un crédit d’impôt pour la recherche d’emploi interprovinciale. Le rapport constate que les coûts à court terme de ces politiques seraient largement compensés par les avantages à long terme découlant de leur mise en œuvre. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2007-05-1.pdf)