Capital outlays per worker were almost 20 per cent lower in 2022 than 2014, and is the most significant factor contributing to slower labour productivity growth, according to a new Statistics Canada report. Yet when firms did spend on innovation and adopting advanced technology in search of efficiencies, it had little positive impact, the authors said. (The Logic)

Talking point: The report argues that Canada faces an “innovation paradox,” in which Canadian firms’ development or use of tools based on new knowledge isn’t paying off. “Compared to OECD economies, we are lagging in commercialization and research and development intensity,” they write. Like many other studies on productivity, the report suggests artificial intelligence as a solution, but notes adoption isn’t yet at the levels necessary to realize that potential.