Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Description
Canada's long-term economic performance hinges on its ability to compete globally and raise living standards at home. However, both are increasingly threatened by stagnating productivity growth. While competitiveness includes many dimensions—such as tax policy, regulation, and exchange rates—productivity is an essential foundation. This course unpacks the critical distinction between productivity and competitiveness, explains why GDP per capita is a key metric for national prosperity, and highlights the crucial role that business investment plays in boosting output per worker. Participants will explore how policy choices, from capital investment and infrastructure to trade openness, affect productivity and, in turn, Canada’s economic potential. Designed for CPAs advising small and mid-sized enterprises, the course empowers participants to interpret macroeconomic trends and contribute to productivity-enhancing decisions within their organizations and client businesses.
Topics Covered:
- Competitiveness versus Productivity
- Productivity and Why it Matters
- Connections Between Current Policy and Productivity
Key Takeaways
Upon completion of this seminar, learners will be able to:
- Differentiate between productivity and competitiveness, and understand the range of factors that influence each—from capital formation and human capital to regulation, taxation, and trade conditions.
- Analyze Canada’s recent GDP per capita and productivity trends, and evaluate how capital investment per worker and other drivers (such as innovation and economies of scale) shape long-term economic performance.
- Assess the policy levers that support or hinder productivity growth—including infrastructure, trade policy, and regulatory efficiency.
Who Will Benefit
CPAs and finance professionals who want to stay updated on Canada's economic landscape.
How to Access the Course
This course is a live webinar. You must attend the live course to receive verifiable CPD hours. We recommend you join five minutes prior to the scheduled starting time. To get the full experience of this interactive course, use a computer that has video and microphone capabilities.
If available, course materials can be accessed 2 business days prior to the course and should be downloaded in advance.
Registration, cancellation, withdrawal and all other CPA Ontario PD policies can be found here.
Speaker(s)
Christopher Ragan is an Associate Professor and the founding Director of McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy. Ragan was the Chair of Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission, which launched in November 2014 with a 5-year horizon to identify policy options to improve environmental and economic performance in Canada. He was also a member of the federal finance minister’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth, which operated from early 2016 to mid 2019. During 2010-12 he was the President of the Ottawa Economics Association. From 2010-13, Ragan held the David Dodge Chair in Monetary Policy at the C.D. Howe Institute, and for many years was a member of the Institute’s Monetary Policy Council. In 2009-10, Ragan served as the Clifford Clark Visiting Economist at Finance Canada; in 2004-05 he served as Special Advisor to the Governor of the Bank of Canada.