David Dodge speaks with Bloomberg News on why Canada's federal government must be “laser-focused” on growing the productive capacity of Canada’s economy or risk falling further behind other nations. David spoke with Bloomberg about the key findings of Bennett Jones' 2024 Mid-Year Economic Outlook.
“The overriding objective of federal and provincial governments going forward has got to be to raise the productivity of workers,” says David. GDP per capita in Canada has lagged other advanced economies for decades—cumulatively growing just 6.8 percent between 2007 and 2023, compared with 21.4 percent in the United States, 19.6 percent in Australia and 11.8 percent in the euro area.
The Outlook calls for a comprehensive strategy to tackle the problem. This plan must have a medium-term horizon and ensure that the actions of government are predictable and coherent to send clear signals to investors.
At the same time, businesses need to reinvest more profits into productive capital, while households need to consume less and save more.