A new answer to Canada’s productivity crisis—A SSHRC researcher says workers hold the key’ contributions to Canadian culture

From: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Date published: 5/6/2025 2:00:00 PM | Date modified: 5/6/2025 2:00:00 PM

Canada’s stagnant productivity rate recently had the Bank of Canada declaring it’s “time to break the glass”. Celebrated business leader and academic Akolisa Ufodike is answering that call. His new research at York University, supported by SSHRC, focuses on how to tackle Canada’s productivity crisis.

“We need to be a more productive society,” Ufodike says. “Or we might not be able to sustain our lifestyle in the future.”

Simply put, productivity measures how efficiently we convert work into economic output. When a worker learns a new skill or a company invests in new equipment, output increases—and productivity rises. At a national level, this increased efficiency is what enables economic growth, and generates wealth.

Ufodike brings an abundance of experience to his academic research. He has been in academia for a decade, but prior to that spent 25 years as a finance executive, with professional experience across industries including telecommunications, banking, oil and gas, utilities, and consumer packaged goods. He also served for nearly three years as a provincial deputy minister in Alberta.

As a researcher, Ufodike conducts interviews and case studies to gather information. His literature reviews rely on both academic and trade journals. As he digs into Canada’s productivity issues, he finds a pattern emerging. Ufodike says that Canada’s current policy ideas to boost productivity are too narrowly focused on business incentives like reducing regulatory burdens or offering tax breaks.

“There are multiple levers we can pull; but, we’ve been yanking on one and just pulling harder and harder,” he says. “While business incentives play a role, productivity growth cannot be achieved without investing in workers—particularly immigrants, who represent a growing share of the workforce.”

“What I’m finding is that we need to be more thoughtful about incentivizing workers directly to be more productive,” he says.

He calls the worker-centred strategy, “a labour-agency approach”. The approach resonates with Ufodike both personally and professionally.

When Ufodike came to Canada from Nigeria in his mid 20s, he was impressed by the sense of economic security and opportunity the country offered. He was able to pursue higher education and, thereafter, build an impressive career. He has since won numerous prestigious awards, including the King Charles III Coronation Medal in 2025, in recognition of his remarkable contributions to public service, governance and diversity in Canada.

But, today, he says, the Canadian landscape is different. Economic growth has slowed and, amid an affordability crisis, there has been growing backlash against immigration levels. This worries Ufodike. Immigrants remain the primary source of new labour for Canada, which has a low birth rate. Mismanaging immigration levels could lead to stagnated growth for many businesses, he says, and a missed opportunity for Canada’s economy.

“In the time that I’ve been here, Canadian society has become poorer,” Ufodike says. “We’re losing our edge.”

Canada’s strategy, he says, should be about ensuring immigrants, many of them working in jobs for which they are overqualified, can become fully productive and work at their full potential. Through his SSHRC Race, Gender and Diversity Initiative-funded research , Ufodike aims to create a list of policy recommendations to pursue a truly innovative productivity strategy that would boost Canada’s human capital and grow its economy. He sees three main themes to this strategy.

First, Canada would need to invest in human capital development through reskilling, upskilling and mentorship programs targeting both immigrants and young workers.

Career mobility is the second critical component. By creating pathways for immigrants to transition into high-productivity sectors like technology and medicine, Canada could better leverage the talents of its diverse workforce.

Lastly, he says, Canada should incorporate strong equity safeguards to ensure immigrants receive fair wages aligned with their qualifications. When skilled workers receive compensation on par with their Canadian-born counterparts, the entire economy benefits, says Ufodike.

Once the strategy is finalized, Ufodike anticipates taking his work to a wider audience in 2026.

“That’s when I intend to hit the conference circuit,” he says.

Rising to the productivity challenge would pay off for everyone, Ufodike says, explaining that boosting Canada’s productivity rate would raise the country’s collective living standards, and help fund the social safety net Canadians rely on.