TD Economics: Canada’s Productivity Crisis Goes From Bad To Worse

“If Canada does not play to win on labour productivity, it risks a continued drop in living standards, worsening wage stagnation and a dangerous deterioration in public services.”

A new study by TD Economics warns that Canada’s productivity crisis is “going from bad to worse.”

According to the study, Canada is one of the “worst performing advanced economies” since the end of the pandemic:

“Over the decade prior to the pandemic, business sector productivity grew by a respectable rate of 1.2% annually (Chart 1). Since 2019, it has ceased to expand at all, setting Canada apart as one of the worst performing advanced economies, not to mention in stark contrast to the United States (see earlier report).”

The following graphic from TD Economics illustrates the productivity challenge Canada faces, and how that challenge can be addressed:

 Canada's Productivity Challenge: Understanding the Post-Pandemic Slump and How to Overcome It. What’s Behind Canada’s Productivity Slump? Canada is Getting Worse at Making Stuff

It should be noted that while the Liberal government claims Canada’s economic challenges are the same as what other peer nations are going through, this TD Economics study, along with many other reports over the past few years, indicates that Canada is doing ‘uniquely bad.’

Canadians are right to feel that our country is falling behind nations we once compared ourselves to, because that is exactly what is happening.

You can read the full TD Economics study here.

Spencer Fernando