Canada’s Investment Crisis: Shrinking Capital Undermines Competitiveness and Wages
Since 2015, weak business investment in Canada has caused capital per worker to decline, undermining labour productivity, wages, and living standards. After narrowing for years, Canada’s investment gap with other OECD countries has widened again, with Canadian workers in 2025 expected to receive far less new capital than their peers, especially compared with those in the United States. Because investment and productivity reinforce each other, the persistence of low investment signals fewer perceived opportunities in Canada and underscores the need for regulatory and fiscal reforms to restore competitiveness, write C.D. Howe Institute President and CEO William B.P. Robson and research officer Mawakina Bafale.
