Senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers characterized the economy’s extended period of weak productivity as an “emergency,” telling an audience in Halifax that it was time to “break the glass” on a problem that could leave the country poorer and less able to absorb inflationary pressures. (The Logic)

Talking point: The Bank of Canada tends to avoid alarmism, so the institution’s deputy leader declaring that Canada’s woeful productivity record has become an emergency could focus the minds of policymakers and executives. One striking statistic from the speech: Canada’s output per hour worked was 88 per cent that of the U.S. in 1984; “not great,” said Rogers, but better than the 71 per cent in 2022. Rogers highlighted a poor record of getting newcomers into jobs that match their skills, a lack of competition and weak business investment as perhaps the most important factors. She said the central bank has a role to play by delivering economic stability, telling her audience “You can be sure we will continue to do all we can to keep inflation low, stable and predictable.”