Canadian businesses struggle to compete
Powerful forces are changing the global economic landscape and challenging Canada's prospects in the world. As developing countries, such as China and India, continue to step up their economic activity and innovative capacity, Canada is increasingly at risk of being swept aside, its influence diminished and its ability to compete severely hampered. Canada and Canadian businesses must become more ambitious, aggressive and innovative to compete globally and profit from the enormous opportunities offered by the faster-growing regions of the world.

A country's competitiveness is defined by the efficiency with which it uses its human, capital and natural resources to generate wealth. True competitiveness is measured by productivity. Productivity allows a country to support high wages, attract investment and maintain a high standard of living.

While Canadians enjoy a high standard of living, Canada is struggling to remain competitive. In the last decade, Canada's business sector productivity growth has slowed and the cost to produce goods has gone up resulting in a loss of market shares. Canadian businesses today face intense and growing competition as economies in Asia and elsewhere move up the value chain, invest in science and innovation and maintain growth rates two or three times the size of ours.
The expert panel on business innovation stated: "Canadians should be concerned about the productivity of our export-oriented economy as competition from china and other emerging economies intensifies. Strong productivity growth is the way to remain internationally competitive with a rising standard of living."
The dramatic rise of the Canadian dollar has magnified Canada's loss in competitiveness. The Canadian dollar is likely to remain a competitive challenge, one we cannot control. In any case, counting on a much weaker dollar to regain business competitiveness is not a business strategy, it is a gamble.
Tracking our performance across a range of competitiveness measures
• Between 1987 and 2009, Canadian businesses invested 23% less per worker in machinery and equipment compared to their American counterparts; 41% less per worker in information and communication technologies. Canadian workers have fewer tools to do their jobs.
• Canadian exports as a share of real gross domestic product (GDP) dropped from 45% in 2000 to 33% in 2010, and Canada's share of world exports fell from 4.3% to 2.5%.
• Since 2000, Canadian exporters have lost almost one-quarter of their market share in the United States (U.S.). From 2000 to 2010, China increased its share of the U.S. import market from 8% to 19%, surpassing Canada as the largest exporter to the U.S. Back in 1990, China held the eighth spot.2
• Canada ranks a disappointing 17th among the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries when it comes to business sector research and development (R&D) spending. When it comes to innovation, the world economic forum rates Canada in 19th place, far behind the US. Germany and Japan
• Canada ranks 20th for international patent applications per million population.
• ( many more are listed in full article)*

Regaining competitiveness
With pressure from competitors intensifying, strategic investments and smart public policies have never been more urgent and essential to regaining Canada's competitiveness.
Building a more productive and, thus, a more internationally competitive economy is a shared undertaking. It is the responsibility of business, individual Canadians and government and requires greater investment in innovative practices and technologies, equipping Canadians with the rights skills and education, and positioning Canada as an attractive environment for investors and entrepreneurs. Canada is losing its place in the world economy, and we need to fight to reclaim our standing.
The Canadian Chamber, along with the provincial/territorial/and regional chambers of commerce, has begun the process by identifying 10 barriers that impede our nation's ability to compete effectively in today's fast-moving, global economy. The next step in the process is to ask the local Chambers of Commerce to prioritize the issues to determine which barriers should be the initial focus of our initiative. Sarnia Lambton Chamber will participate in this process.

http://www.chamber.ca/images/uploads/Network/NewsLetter/Barriers_to_Competitiveness_Document_08_2011.pdf