Centre for Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness

Canada faces unprecedented economic challenges. Its productivity growth is stagnant. Its advanced industries are losing in global competition. And too few innovation-based companies are growing to scale. These challenges are daunting but not insurmountable. Solving them requires the right policies at all levels of government. And their development depends on actionable insights generated not from broad macroeconomic analysis, but from deep analysis of actual production systems, industry dynamics, and technologies.

The Centre for Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness, an Ottawa-based affiliate of ITIF, focuses on addressing those needs. As a separately incorporated and registered charity under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act and Income Tax Act, the Centre’s mission is to help policymakers and the public better understand the nature of the innovation economy and the types of public policies necessary to drive Canadian innovation, productivity, and global competitiveness. The Centre also informs ITIF’s broader work on shared North American innovation challenges and opportunities. (Support the Centre’s work, contact Lawrence Zhang, [email protected].)

Featured Publications

Comments to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Regarding Legislated Procurement Targets for SMEs

The legislated targets should be a tool used to stimulate technology research, development, and commercialization of Canadian innovations, not a goal in and of itself.

The Digital Services Tax Will Not Be Good for Canada

Canada should drop its Digital Services Tax, which will harm Canadian businesses, startups, and consumers and surely lead to a retaliatory response by the U.S. government.

Challenges in Assessing Canadian Competition

The Competition Bureau of Canada’s 2023 report assessing the state of competition in Canada has several methodological and interpretation issues that raise doubts about the conclusion's accuracy. As such, policymakers should not use the report as the foundation of competition policymaking or to justify a more aggressive antitrust regime.

Comments to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission Regarding Supporting Content Through Base Contributions

There is no free lunch to be found by imposing base contributions on foreign online undertakings to fund the government’s preferred content. The Commission should reckon with the economic realities of its proposal rather than obscuring them behind anti-foreign rhetoric.

The Untapped Technological Patent-ial of Canada

Canada is capturing less than half of its technological potential, allowing for groundbreaking research and innovations to sit unused or to be scooped up by foreign companies.

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Events

July 17, 2024

How Can Canadian Policymakers Improve the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act?

Watch now for an engaging discussion with leading international experts and peers presented by ITIF’s Centre for Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness.

April 30, 2024

Reviving Canada’s Innovation Economy

Watch now for ITIF's launch event for the Centre for Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness, an Ottawa-based ITIF affiliate focused on tackling these issues. The event featured an expert panel discussion on a new report from the Centre examining the how and why of Canada’s performance on key measures of productivity, innovation, and competitiveness.

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