Canada falls behind in competitiveness

The World Economic Forum has once again ranked Canada’s competitiveness standing well behind that of the United States and the Nordic countries of northern Europe. The rankings, based on business and other economic data for the year 2003, saw Canada go up slightly in the competitiveness index, to 15th from 16th from the preceeding year, but drop three places to 15th on a measure for business performance. The rankings are significant because they not based on the size of the economy, but rather on factors such as productivity and innovation.
A report carried in the Globe and Mail noted that the decline has come despite attempts by the governments at all levels to focus on productivity enhancing measures such as workplace training and R&D.