Canada is no longer one of the world’s top 10 most competitive economies, as a new report finds Canada’s competitiveness is in freefall.
The 2019 edition of the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking places, which annually ranks 63 countries in terms of their economic competitiveness, put Canada in 13th place.
This is Canada’s worst score since the rankings began in 1997. A far cry from the consistently high scores seen in previous years — as high as 5th place in 2014.
“We’ve seen less money coming into Canada, it’s not attracting its fair share of foreign capital,” said Craig Alexander, chief economist at Deloitte Canada
IMD ranked free-market oriented Singapore as the most competitive economy in the world for 2019. With Hong Kong and the United States close behind.
Canada, on the other hand, has fallen far behind traditionally weaker economies like Qatar and Ireland.
Canada’s decline in competitiveness can be attributed to both low global oil prices and poor policy decisions like the federal carbon tax, which increases the cost of conducting business in Canada.
While our neighbours to the south are reducing red tape and making it easier for businesses to thrive, Canada seems to be heading in the opposite direction. The situation is so dire that the Canadian pipeline association called it a “competitiveness crisis.”
Low competitiveness is also hurting ordinary Canadians, as a recent report found that almost half of Canadians are $200 or less away from financial insolvency each month
As other countries actively work to become more competitive, this report is a wake-up call for the Canadian government – create a friendlier business environment or more Canadian companies will relocate outside of Canada.
