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February 4, 2021

Canada Badly Lags US, OECD in Business Investment

  • After improving against international competitors during the 2000s and early in the 2010s, business investment in Canada has slipped badly, lagging investment in the United States and other advanced economies.
  • New investment per available worker in Canada in 2020 was about 58 cents for every dollar of investment per worker in the United States – lower than at any point since the beginning of the 1990s.
  • Canadian policymakers can help improve Canada’s investment performance through infrastructure investments, lower and less distorting taxes, and incentives oriented toward growth and competition at home and abroad.
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William Robson

Bill Robson took office as CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute in July 2006, after serving as the Institute’s Senior Vice President since 2003 and Director of Research from 2000 to 2003. He has written more than 270 monographs, articles, chapters and books on such subjects as government budgets, pensions, healthcare financing, inflation and currency issues.

Miles Wu
Miles Wu

Miles Wu is a former Research Assistant at the C.D. Howe Institute. In his role, he provided research support, literature review, and analysis for various projects and presentations. Prior to the C.D. Howe Institute, Miles had worked at the Information Technology Association of Canada, Queen’s Park and Toronto City Hall in both internship and full-time positions.

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