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PRODUCTIVITY AND INNOVATION

– MARK RENDELL

Canada is a perennial laggard when it comes to productivity. The amount of GDP generated each hour worked has been below the OECD average for decades. Economists attribute this to weak business investment in machinery and equipment, low research and development spending and barriers to interprovincial trade, among other things.

The need to boost productivity is growing more acute as the population ages. Fewer workers supporting more retirees means the country will depend increasingly on productivity improvements to drive economic growth. Innovation is central to the conversation. Canadian companies spend less on R&D than businesses in most developed countries and have a poor track record when it comes commercializing intellectual property. Access to capital for startups has improved over the past decade, but companies have difficulty scaling up. Those that do are often bought by U.S. competitors.

Various parties suggested reforming the R&D tax credits and improving the patent system. Both the Liberals and the Tories vowed to funnel large amounts of money into industries such as zero-emission vehicles, and both pledged to create a major new research institution.

FOLIO

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2021-09-21T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-21T07:00:00.0000000Z

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