By Stewart Lewis

(February 4 16:45 ET) – The gap between the U.S. and Canadian manufacturing sectors can be attributed to two specific industries, says economist Andrew Sharpe. The Americans are beating us in production of electronics and industrial machinery, he says.

Sharpe made his observations yesterday at the Canadian Tax Conference on Competitiveness in Ottawa. Sharpe is the executive director of the Center
for the Study of Living Standards in Ottawa.

Canadian production in these two sectors has not decreased, he says. But on a per-hour basis, workers in the U.S. are more productive. The gap has widened to the point where Canada’s productivity level is the lowest of the G7 countries, says Sharpe.