As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below.

Recommendation 1

That the Government of Canada adopt a sector-specific approach in its productivity analyses and reporting to improve data, efficiency and transparency and more accurately identify performance gaps within individual sectors.

Recommendation 2

That the Government of Canada develop a national productivity strategy, including a dedicated strategy for the manufacturing sector.

Recommendation 3

That the Government of Canada, in collaboration with the provinces and territories and in compliance with existing labor market agreements, develop learning and skills development strategies to better align workers’ skills with higher-productivity sectors and to retrain workers affected by economic shocks and to upskill workers so they can fully benefit from the adoption of new technologies, namely by supporting training, re-skilling and labour mobility.

Recommendation 4

That the Government of Canada, in accordance with Quebec's autonomy in selecting and welcoming immigrants and the immigration agreements established by the provinces and territories, align immigration targets more closely with productivity and GDP-per-capita outcomes by favouring highly skilled immigrants and significantly accelerating application processing in high-skill streams, while acknowledging ongoing sector specific labour requirements.

Recommendation 5

That the Government of Canada implement measures to address labour shortages in certain skilled trades, including by supporting the immigration of skilled workers.

Recommendation 6

That the Government of Canada implement measures to address labour shortages in certain skilled trades, including by further encouraging underrepresented groups in these careers, to broaden the talent pool.

Recommendation 7

That the Government of Canada, working alongside provinces and territories, strengthen support for the immigration of skilled workers and their retention, by expediting visa processing for these workers, facilitating and accelerating the recognition of skills and credentials, and simplifying the issuance of work permits.

Recommendation 8

That the Government of Canada continue to support innovation by targeting incentives to encourage businesses to increase investment in the adoption of advanced technologies, to improve productivity.

Recommendation 9

That the Government of Canada modernize the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentive program, in particular by simplifying access to it and ensuring greater efficiency in approval processes.

Recommendation 10

That the Government of Canada establish a preferential tax regime for patent income.

Recommendation 11

That the Government of Canada strengthen support for commercialization, particularly through funding mechanisms and tax credits that promote partnerships between businesses and research institutions, including colleges and polytechnics, and through targeted support for technology transfer offices, incubators and accelerators.

Recommendation 12

That the Government of Canada increase support for applied research in Canada by extending eligibility for all federal research programs to Canadian colleges and polytechnics.

Recommendation 13

That the Government of Canada include applied research in major federal innovation programs to explicitly integrate innovation centres into productivity support programs.

Recommendation 14

That the Government of Canada strengthen the participation of SMEs and universities in large-scale projects of national interest, such as the Defence Industrial Strategy, in order to increase SME integration into national supply chains, strengthen Canada’s talent pool and promote the development of Canadian technologies.

Recommendation 15

That the Government of Canada embed intellectual property identification, protection, and commercialization supports in its applied research investments in order to prevent the loss of intellectual property abroad and retain more economic value in Canada.

Recommendation 16

That the Government of Canada further encourage the purchase of Canadian products and technologies by allowing immediate deductibility for Canadian companies that acquire Canadian technologies and by promoting public procurement of competitive Canadian solutions.

Recommendation 17

That the Government of Canada undertake a review of value for research and development funding, with a particular focus on a comparative analysis between colleges and polytechnics and research conducted by universities, to better understand:

• the return on investment for each dollar of federal research and development spending, with a particular focus on the economic benefit generated by both basic and applied research;
• and the role that colleges and polytechnics can play in fostering private-sector co-investment, reducing the burden on taxpayers, and delivering measurable productivity outcomes.

Recommendation 18

That the Government of Canada strengthen support for the development of the next generation of entrepreneurs by implementing initiatives specifically aimed at business succession and business transfers.

Recommendation 19

That the Government of Canada work with provinces and territories to reduce the regulatory burden by addressing irritants systemically rather than individually to improve the overall impact of regulatory decisions, support innovation, encourage investment in Canada bring down prices for consumers. This may include but is not limited to:

• streamline regulations surrounding domestic food processing and manufacturing, to encourage investment in Canada;
• adopting legislation requiring all federal regulatory agencies to explicitly consider competitiveness and business growth in the performance of their duties by rigorously assessing the potential impacts of regulatory decisions on economic growth beforehand, rather than as an afterthought;
• expanding the scope of the Red Tape Reduction Act by reducing or eliminating the exemptions it currently provides; and
• establishing an independent body, modeled on the United Kingdom’s Regulatory Policy Committee, responsible for publicly assessing the quality of regulatory impact assessments.

Recommendation 20

That the Government of Canada undertake a comprehensive review of federal regulatory and permitting systems in order to identify and remove unnecessary regulatory and reporting burdens – particularly where they disproportionately affect small and medium-sized enterprises – with the objective of reducing duplication, accelerating timelines, improving predictability for investors and aligning regulation with trusted jurisdictions where appropriate in order to free up capital and management time for growth and technology adoption.

Recommendation 21

That the Government of Canada, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, continue and intensify efforts to remove interprovincial barriers to trade and logistics bottlenecks that limit firm scale, capital investment, and productivity growth, in order to make Canada’s domestic market more competitive and produce an annual report on progress made in harmonizing standards and regulations across provinces.

Recommendation 22

That the Government of Canada implement measures to strengthen Canada’s tax competitiveness. This can include, in the short term, introducing a temporary investment tax credit namely a tax credit for businesses based on growth in research and development investment in order to encourage sustained increases in such investment, and over the longer term, reforming its tax system.

Recommendation 23

That the Government of Canada implement measures to support a greater number of small and medium-sized enterprises, namely by converting a portion of direct financial assistance programs into tax credits and by simplifying and broadening eligibility for business tax credits.

Recommendation 24

That the Government of Canada undertake a comprehensive review of Canada’s tax system as it relates to investment attraction and talent retention, with particular attention to corporate income tax, capital gains taxation, and top marginal personal income tax rates, benchmarked against Canada’s largest competitors, including the United States, along with other Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries.

Recommendation 25

That the Government of Canada examine the impact of top marginal personal income tax rates and capital gains taxation on entrepreneurship, head-office location decisions, and risk-taking, including whether current rates discourage investment relative to peer jurisdictions.

Recommendation 26

That the Government of Canada assess options to improve corporate tax competitiveness – including rate structures, investment tax credits, and simplification measures – to ensure Canada remains an attractive destination for capital-intensive and productivity-enhancing investment.

Recommendation 27

That the Government of Canada undertake a focused assessment of the impact of persistent federal deficits and elevated government borrowing on private-sector investment, productivity growth, and capital outflows, and, informed by that assessment, develop and publicly articulate a realistic and credible plan to end historic deficit spending and restore fiscal anchors that support long-term economic competitiveness.

Recommendation 28

That the Government of Canada work with the Government of Quebec to reach an agreement to introduce a single income tax return.

Recommendation 29

That the Government of Canada review its government programs to streamline them and ensure their outcomes are met.

Recommendation 30

That the Government of Canada accelerate procurement processes to reduce delays and present an annual report to Parliament on progress made.

Recommendation 31

That the Government of Canada enhance the small business deduction by increasing the eligible taxable income threshold from $500,000 to $1 million.

Recommendation 32

That the Government of Canada extend indefinitely the accelerated investment incentive, which ended in 2023, and expand its eligibility to the mining and defence sectors.

Recommendation 33

That the Government of Canada further support business growth by strengthening investments and support measures for export and market diversification for businesses. This may include:

• Putting in place measures to prioritize port capacity expansion, trade corridor reliability, and freight rail competition;
• Reforming the CanExport program;
• Expediting the implementation of the National Trade Corridors Fund and;
• Supporting SME access to new markets.

Recommendation 34

That the Government of Canada review measures related to competition policy in the telecommunications, transportation and financial services sectors to strengthen competition in Canada.

Recommendation 35

That the Government of Canada provide more targeted support to medium-sized businesses through better access to capital and through programs tailored to their specific needs in terms of financing, innovation and international growth.

Recommendation 36

That the Government of Canada review its procurement processes to ensure opportunity for women and Indigenous-owned SMEs.

Recommendation 37

That the Government of Canada review its entrepreneur financing programs to ensure taxpayer-backed loans are tied to clear conditions that support measurable economic benefit for Canadians; that priority be given to high-potential firms with demonstrated need; and that access to financing be guided primarily by economic merit and growth potential.

Recommendation 38

That the Government of Canada increase support to start-ups, particularly in the technology sector, by eliminating capital gains tax on certain investments in tech start-ups and offering a tax credit to Canadians who invest in Canadian start‑ups.

Recommendation 39

That the Government of Canada recognize the shortage of capital for high-potential, high-growth firms and startups in the existing financial ecosystem and adopt a more permissive approach to an open banking framework, with the goal of establishing new banks and introducing competition in the sector, with an end of raising the total capital stock and reducing the cost of financing.

Recommendation 40

That, given the significant role natural resources play in Canada’s economy, the scale of Canada’s natural gas reserves, and increasing global demand – particularly from allied nations seeking secure and lower-emissions transition fuels – the government support the sustainable expansion of Canada’s liquefied natural gas capacity and undertake a review of the regulatory system to ensure it is efficient, predictable, and aligned with both economic and environmental objectives.