When we talk about productivity, we mean how many goods and services the economy produces for every hour worked. At its core, productivity reflects how effectively people, businesses, and organizations use time, skills, technology, and capital to produce goods and services.

You can see examples of productivity growth every day. If a mechanic gets better tools and can fix two cars a day instead of one, that is productivity growth. If a hospital upgrades its systems so a nurse spends less time on paperwork and more time with patients, that is productivity growth too. The same is true if a software engineer writes code that automates a slow task and saves their team hours each week. In each case, people are not working harder or longer- they are just making better use of their time, skills, and tools.

These changes might seem small on their own, but they add up. When businesses adopt new technologies, invest in equipment, refine processes, and develop skills, they can produce more with the same time and resources. As these gains spread across workplaces and industries, each hour worked generates more goods and services, raising productivity across the economy.

That is where it begins to matter for living standards. Higher productivity supports wage growth, helps moderate inflation, and enables businesses to invest and grow. It also helps governments raise the revenue they need to fund healthcare, education, housing, and other services without relying solely on higher taxes.

Despite its importance, productivity growth has slowed across many advanced economies. Understanding the forces that enable or constrain productivity growth has therefore become a central policy challenge.

Canada's productivity problem

Canada’s labour productivity growth has lagged behind that of other advanced economies over the past two decades. While countries such as the United States have steadily increased output per hour worked, Canada’s gains have been more modest, even flat over the past few years, contributing to a widening productivity gap and weaker growth in living standards over time.

Labour productivity across advanced economies

What is Project Productivity?

Project Productivity is a Business Council of British Columbia multi-year initiative to tackle one of Canada’s biggest obstacles to long-term growth: our low-growth productivity.

For years, we’ve talked about the symptoms of weak productivity growth: subdued business investment, overly complex regulations that slow projects down, and too few companies growing at scale to compete globally. Yet, less attention has been given to the practical steps needed to help people and firms do more with the time, skills, and capital they already have.

Productivity growth ultimately occurs through innovation and the reallocation of resources toward more competitive businesses. Public policy shapes these dynamics by influencing incentives, building capabilities through institutions and infrastructure, and enabling firms to adapt, invest, and scale.

Project Productivity represents our commitment to move from diagnosis to action. Working with our members, policymakers, and educators, we will translate research into practical policy ideas that strengthen investment, support business growth, and improve long-term economic performance in B.C. and across Canada.

Project Goals

  • Build thought leadership and public understanding of productivity

    Generate research, analysis, and communications that improves understanding of productivity challenges and opportunities across sectors, positioning BCBC as a credible source of insight while broadening awareness among business leaders, policymakers, and the public.

  • Translate evidence into policy solutions

    Use research and engagement to advance practical policy reforms that strengthen investment and support firms scaling and competing globally.

  • Foster dialogue and collaboration on productivity solutions

    Bring together business leaders, policymakers, educators, and industry experts through targeted forums and events to share insights, surface barriers, and align around actionable solutions.

How we're putting productivity into practice

  • These half-day forums bring together leaders from business, academia, non-profits, and government to examine productivity challenges within specific sectors and policy areas. Each session is designed to surface practical barriers, share real-world experience, and identify opportunities to strengthen productivity.

  • Through research reports, blogs, op-eds, and analysis, this stream examines the drivers of productivity and highlights practical policy solutions. Drawing on data and real-world examples, the work aims to deepen understanding while advancing credible ideas that support investment, firm growth, and long-term economic performance.

  • This stream includes communication products like campaigns, video series, and digital content translating complex ideas into accessible narratives that broaden public understanding and keep productivity central to economic conversations.

Become a Productivity Partner

We’re looking for partners who share our long-term vision and understand that meaningful policy change takes time. Project Productivity is built for lasting impact, supported by patient capital so we have the time, focus, and expertise to do this work well and show real progress.

Our founding partner, Ryan Peterson, has committed $2 million over 10 years to launch the project, hire a director, and kick-start the research, campaigns, and events that will move this work forward. We’re now inviting additional multi-year partners to help expand the project’s reach and deepen its impact.

As a Productivity Partner, your organization will be recognized across BCBC’s highest-profile platforms, including the Business Summit, other major events, our publications, and our digital channels. We’ll work with you to align the partnership with your priorities and make sure it delivers value and impact on both sides.

Productivity Partners

Founding Partner

Supporting Partner