Canada's Productivity Summit

Driving Investment for Economic Growth and Prosperity

BMO Centre at Stampede Park | October 16-17, 2024
Calgary, AB

As warnings about declining productivity and its looming threat to the country’s future prosperity, the School of Public Policy hosted Canada’s Productivity Summit sponsored by the Government of Alberta at the BMO Centre in Calgary in October 2024.

The more than 700 delegates who participated in the Summit included leaders from business, non-profits and representatives from governments from coast to coast to coast. They heard from over 80 leading economists and subject matter experts at plenary sessions and issue-specific panels to discuss ways to develop, or restore, foundations for sustained growth and prosperity in Canada.

The speakers and delegates at the two-day Summit discussed key issues impacting productivity including tax and regulatory reform, interprovincial trade barriers, infrastructure development and labour markets, and their impact across industrial sectors.

Summit Highlights

Canada’s Productivity Summit gathered business and community leaders, economists, policymakers, scholars, and more from across the country. The objective is to reach a comprehensive understanding of these issues, identify opportunities for improvement across a number of sectors, and craft actionable recommendations for policymakers.

The summit discussions included key topics that:

Create an environment for policy innovations that raise economic growth across Canada
Offset inflationary pressures, accelerate wage growth and address the ongoing affordability crisis
Generate additional revenues to support spending on infrastructure, education, healthcare and social services
Respond to upcoming structural challenges such as shifting demographics, climate change, innovation and technological change
Identify what influence government policies and private decisions could have on our nation’s growth
Resolve fiscal imbalances and reverse the trend towards higher deficits

"This is about collaborating on the challenges our economy faces. Higher productivity means better jobs, bigger paycheques, more opportunities, and increased affordability, but Canada’s productivity growth has lagged our closest competitors. This summit will gather some of the best minds out there to better define this problem and propose solutions."

Hon. Nate Horner
President of Treasury Board and Finance, Government of Alberta

"Raising productivity means better equipment and tools for workers. It means more training and better, more efficient management practices. All of this together creates more value in our workdays. Prince Edward Island looks to improve our productivity, and we’re excited to work together with our provincial and territorial partners in a collective effort towards a stronger economy we will all benefit from."

Hon. Jill Burridge
Minister of Finance, Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island

Canada’s Productivity Summit was organized by the School of Public Policy, with the Government of Alberta as its presenting sponsor. The generous support received from the Government of Alberta emphasizes the importance the province places on raising economic growth, boosting incomes and living standards, and ensuring that funding our infrastructure and vital public services is managed sustainably into the future.