The Industrial Carbon Tax Is Crushing Canada’s Productivity

Higher industrial energy costs are driving up prices, cutting investment, and weakening the very sectors Canada depends on for growth.

A worker inspects sheets of stainless steel at a factory in Montreal on Sept. 18, 2025. The Canadian Press/Christopher Katsarov

Commentary

Canada is facing a productivity crisis that can no longer be waved away as a statistical quirk or an academic concern. The Bank of Canada has warned repeatedly that our economic output per worker is falling behind our peers, and the consequences are already visible: stagnant wages, declining investment, and a shrinking capacity to compete in global markets.