The Canadian Standard of Living, Productivity and Innovation: Challenges and Opportunities for Canada's Standard of Living

Wednesday, May 13, 2026 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM EDT (UTC–04:00)
Waterloo, Ontario
Public Event: Signature Lecture (Hybrid)
Speakers:
May
13
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Productivity, innovation adoption and standard of living are intrinsically linked. Due to lagging productivity , Canada’s standard of living has dramatically declined — a trend felt by individuals, communities and businesses across the country.

Join Anil Arora, former chief statistician of Canada and CIGI board member, for the second lecture in The Canadian Standard of Living, Productivity and Innovation series. This hybrid event will offer:

  • A data-driven analysis of factors affecting Canada's standard of living
  • Actionable insights on progress barriers and the pathways to improvement
  • Expert perspective and discussion with Denise Hearn

In-person attendees are invited to arrive at 5:00 p.m. for networking and refreshments. The lecture will begin promptly at 5:45 p.m. for online and in-person attendees.

About the lecture series:

The Canadian Standard of Living, Productivity and Innovation lecture series, sponsored by Savvas Chamberlain and presented by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), brings together CEOs, financiers, manufacturers, policy makers and influencers, empowering them to champion the adoption of innovation — a critical step in reversing Canada’s productivity decline.

Each lecture will feature a keynote presentation from a distinguished global or Canadian speaker, followed by a forward-looking discussion focused on practical pathways for change, highlighting how individual, institutional and policy choices can shape Canada’s long-term economic performance and prosperity.

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The Canadian Standard of Living, Productivity and Innovation Lecture Series

Event Speakers

Anil Arora

Anil Arora is a CIGI board member, adjunct lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School and former Chief Statistician of Canada where he led the modernization of Statistic Canada’s digital governance, technical and data infrastructure. He also co-authored and helped steer the Government of Canada’s data strategy. Anil dedicated his professional career to partnering with the business sector, academia and all orders of government.

Denise Hearn

Denise Hearn is the director of strategic initiatives at the Long Now Foundation, an organization dedicated to inspiring long-term thinking to preserve possibilities for the future.

Savvas Chamberlain

Savvas Chamberlain, C.M., FRSC, is a renowned physicist, inventor, entrepreneur and philanthropist whose work helped shape Canada’s digital imaging industry. A distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Waterloo, he pioneered advances in MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor) and CCD (charge-coupled device) technology and invented key silicon image sensors that established Canada’s leadership in digital imaging. He founded and led DALSA Corporation and is founder and CEO of EXEL Research Inc. He is a member of the Order of Canada and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Paul Samson

Paul Samson is president of CIGI. He has 30 years of experience across a range of policy issues with partners from around the world. He is a former senior government official and also served for many years as co-chair of the principal G20 working group on the global economy.

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