Canada's Productivity Initiative: Halifax

Canada's Productivity Initiative gathers experts from across the country to explore multiple aspects of our nation's economic growth and productivity. Held on June 5, 2025, in Halifax, the session was hosted by the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy in collaboration with the Halifax Partnership at the Halifax Convention Centre.

The Halifax session addressed Interprovincial trade and government regulation. It included an experts-only workshop in the morning, followed by lunch with a keynote address, panel discussions on the three topics and an evening networking reception. Sessions have also taken place in Ottawa, Halifax and Montreal, and two more will be held in Saskatoon and Toronto in the near future.

Insights from the Session

Productivity is at the heart of any robust economy, underpinning long-term improvements in living standards, and it has far-reaching implications for almost all areas of public policy. Countless factors impact economic performance, but relatively little is known about the reasons for Canada's recent challenges. Since 2015, Canadian families' real disposable income growth has been slower than any other eight-year period outside of the Great Depression or the 1990s recession. Explanations range from a lack of business innovation, lacklustre capital investment and interprovincial trade barriers, to inefficient features of our taxation and regulatory system. The Halifax session helped to examine how we can invigorate growth and increase economic stability for the benefit of Canadians in the future in terms of two key subjects: interprovincial trade and regulation.