Industry leaders, politicians attend productivity conference in Calgary

According to economic data, Canada's current economic productivity gap with the U.S. has increased to the largest it's been since the Second World War. (File)

A Calgary conference is set to look at how Canada has fallen behind in terms of productivity and how the situation can be turned around.

Officials say since the 1980s, the ability of Canada's economy to produce value has slowed compared to other G7 nations.

Economists say it's now hit a critical point, where the productivity gap between Canada and the U.S. has grown to its largest point since the Second World War.

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Trevor Tombe with the University of Calgary says the country's size and lower population are big challenges.

"If we want wages to grow faster, if we want prices to be low relative to our income, we need to think about ways to boost economic activity and there's lots of options on the table," he said.

"I think we need a serious focus on adopting them across the board and, over time, that will improve living standards and ease affordability challenges."

Participants of the two-day summit, hosted by the U of C's School of Public Policy, will be discussing ways to tackle those problems.

Speakers will cover topics such as innovation, infrastructure, interprovincial trade and even advancing Indigenous economic reconciliation.

Premier Danielle Smith is also expected to take part in a fireside chat, beginning at 10 a.m.

(With files from Mason DePatie)