by Rosalie Wyonch Artificial intelligence has renewed optimism about improving Canada’s long-standing productivity problem, but history shows that general-purpose technologies often take decades to produce measurable economy-wide gains. Early adoption typically produces modest improvements as firms experiment and invest in complementary assets such as data, skills, and organizational changes. Canada performs reasonably well in international […]
9 avril 2026 – Les investissements en IA ont atteint plusieurs centaines de milliards, mais les retombées économiques se font encore attendre. Malgré des investissements rapides et une expérimentation répandue des outils d’IA générative, les gains de productivité mesurables ne se reflètent pas encore clairement dans les données agrégées des économies avancées, ce qui soulève […]
April 9, 2026 – Capital spending on AI has surged into the hundreds of billions, yet the economic payoff remains elusive. Despite rapid investment and widespread experimentation with generative AI tools, measurable productivity gains have yet to show up clearly in aggregate data across advanced economies – raising an important question: who will be first […]
From: Will Falk To: Healthcare AI watchersDate: April 2, 2026 Re: Governing Generative AI: From Permission to Competency to Measurement Most debate about generative AI in healthcare assumes the danger is under-regulation. That assumption is wrong. In 2026, the greater risk is over-regulation that stops much needed system innovation. That includes approval frameworks that are not yet thought through or that were built for drugs and devices being […]
From: Mawakina Bafale, Peter MacKenzie and William B.P. RobsonTo: Canada’s PolicymakersDate: March 31, 2026 Re: Robust-Looking Foreign Investment Flows are a Sideshow – Capital Investment that Raises Productivity is What We Need Statistics Canada’s announcement last month that Canada attracted $96.8 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2025 – the biggest FDI inflow since 2007 – sounded like good news. The prime minister was quick to cite it as evidence of investor confidence in the Canadian […]
Published in Financial Post. Statistics Canada’s announcement last month that Canada attracted $96.8 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2025 — the biggest FDI inflow since 2007 — sounded like good news. The prime minister was quick to cite it as evidence of investor confidence in the Canadian economy. Others might point to the fall in Canadian […]
From: James MilwayTo: Productivity observersDate: March 12, 2026Re: Want More Innovation? Increase Pressure, Not Support Canada’s policymakers are concerned about our poor economic productivity and innovation performance. The two are the highly linked – productivity improvement (more value added per hour worked) comes from innovation in process or product. But what drives innovation and hence […]
After almost 40 years at the C.D. Howe Institute, President Emeritus Bill Robson reflects on the Institute’s success, the future of Canada, and the state of political discourse. Watch the exit interview as host Michael Hainsworth tours the new headquarters with the man who built it.
After almost 40 years at the C.D. Howe Institute, President Emeritus Bill Robson reflects on the Institute’s success, the future of Canada, and the state of political discourse. Watch the exit interview as host Michael Hainsworth tours the new headquarters with the man who built it.
Canada has invested billions of dollars in artificial intelligence (AI) talent, research, and computing infrastructure, but an important foundation for its innovation remains underdeveloped: strong, secure, and trusted data supply chains. Without clearer rules and institutions to support responsible data sharing, Canada risks constraining AI innovation and falling behind global competitors
February 12, 2026 – Canada has invested billions of dollars in artificial intelligence (AI) talent, research, and computing infrastructure, but an important foundation for its innovation remains underdeveloped: strong, secure, and trusted data supply chains. Without clearer rules and institutions to support responsible data sharing, Canada risks constraining AI innovation and falling behind global competitors, […]
From: Peter HowittTo: Concerned CanadiansRe: Creative Destruction and Canada’s Strategic Imperative: Openness Over Isolation Artificial intelligence, rising protectionism, and uncertainty in Canada’s most important bilateral relationship have converged to test the country’s resilience. While some interpret these developments as a call for renewed self‑sufficiency, a more historically grounded reading suggests the opposite. Periods of rapid […]
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by Rosalie Wyonch Artificial intelligence has renewed optimism about improving Canada’s long-standing productivity problem, but history shows that general-purpose technologies often take decades to produce measurable economy-wide gains. Early adoption typically produces modest improvements as firms experiment and invest in complementary assets such as data, skills, and organizational changes. Canada performs reasonably well in international […] 
From: Will Falk To: Healthcare AI watchersDate: April 2, 2026 Re: Governing Generative AI: From Permission to Competency to Measurement Most debate about generative AI in healthcare assumes the danger is under-regulation. That assumption is wrong. In 2026, the greater risk is over-regulation that stops much needed system innovation. That includes approval frameworks that are not yet thought through or that were built for drugs and devices being […] 
From: Mawakina Bafale, Peter MacKenzie and William B.P. RobsonTo: Canada’s PolicymakersDate: March 31, 2026 Re: Robust-Looking Foreign Investment Flows are a Sideshow – Capital Investment that Raises Productivity is What We Need Statistics Canada’s announcement last month that Canada attracted $96.8 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2025 – the biggest FDI inflow since 2007 – sounded like good news. The prime minister was quick to cite it as evidence of investor confidence in the Canadian […] 
Published in Financial Post. Statistics Canada’s announcement last month that Canada attracted $96.8 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2025 — the biggest FDI inflow since 2007 — sounded like good news. The prime minister was quick to cite it as evidence of investor confidence in the Canadian economy. Others might point to the fall in Canadian […] 
From: James MilwayTo: Productivity observersDate: March 12, 2026Re: Want More Innovation? Increase Pressure, Not Support Canada’s policymakers are concerned about our poor economic productivity and innovation performance. The two are the highly linked – productivity improvement (more value added per hour worked) comes from innovation in process or product. But what drives innovation and hence […] 
After almost 40 years at the C.D. Howe Institute, President Emeritus Bill Robson reflects on the Institute’s success, the future of Canada, and the state of political discourse. Watch the exit interview as host Michael Hainsworth tours the new headquarters with the man who built it. 
Canada has invested billions of dollars in artificial intelligence (AI) talent, research, and computing infrastructure, but an important foundation for its innovation remains underdeveloped: strong, secure, and trusted data supply chains. Without clearer rules and institutions to support responsible data sharing, Canada risks constraining AI innovation and falling behind global competitors 
From: Peter HowittTo: Concerned CanadiansRe: Creative Destruction and Canada’s Strategic Imperative: Openness Over Isolation Artificial intelligence, rising protectionism, and uncertainty in Canada’s most important bilateral relationship have converged to test the country’s resilience. While some interpret these developments as a call for renewed self‑sufficiency, a more historically grounded reading suggests the opposite. Periods of rapid […]