Deloitte Study Finds Canadian Productivity Underperforms United States

By Kalen Smith, Big4 Blogger

A new report from Deloitte has shown that Canadian businesses are trailing their United States counterparts in productivity. Deloitte said that businesses throughout Canada tend to rely more heavily on government support and are less inclined to be entrepreneurial.

The findings were consistent throughout nearly every industry between the two countries. However, the biggest discrepancy was between the manufacturing industries of the two countries. The United States manufacturing sector has grown nearly six times faster than that of Canada. Bill Currie, vice-chairman of Deloitte Canada, said that Canadian businesses would need to take new measures to become more competitive.

Currie said businesses throughout the nation will need to take two measures to encourage growth. One of the biggest limitations is a lack of entrepreneurial drive. Canadian businesses will need to take more aggressive risks to stimulate growth. Currie also said that businesses throughout Canada aren’t investing enough in research and development.

He argued that the government could encourage business growth by relaxing regulations and trade barriers. Encouraging direct investment from foreign investors could also help generate enough capital to grow the research and development division and modernize their infrastructure. Currie and his colleagues at Deloitte argued that the government will need to focus on encouraging entrepreneurial attitudes rather than providing direct support to their businesses.