The productivity – foreign investment link

If you want another reason why Atlantic Canada has to get a whole lot better at attracting foreign firms, Statistics Canada has a good reason for you. According to a study released today, foreign-controlled plants accounted for most of the growth in labour productivity in the Canadian manufacturing sector during the 1980s and 1990s. During the 1990s, US-controlled plants alone accounted for about 45% of growth in Canada’s labour productivity.

Investment equals jobs and increased productivity.

Sounds like a bad idea. We should stick to growing our local firms.

Study: Impact of foreign ownership on growth in productivity
Statistics Canada
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/051205/d051205a.htm