It appears Canada is moving up in the economic rankings of industrialized countries - but mainly because others are slipping.
The Conference Board of Canada says the country has retained its "B" grade and improved its ranking from 11th since its last report card in pre-recession 2008, adding that part of the reason the surge is because some European countries going through tough times.
The board says with the exception of inflation and employment growth, Canada ranks far below the highest-ranked countries on other economic indicators such as productivity and attracting global investment.
Despite its economic challenges, the United States ranks fourth, two places ahead of Canada with slightly better productivity and a higher standard of living. While Norway and Australia are the top economic performers with both countries scoring "A" grades.
Canada's improved ranking doesn't completely reflect its performance, said the report released on Thursday.
Investments in machinery, equipment and technology can improve productivity as well as encouraging innovation, experts add.
Income per capita and foreign investment in the country and by Canadian companies outside the country also held Canada back.
Beckman noted that Canada is behind the United States' standard of living rating by about 15%, attributed mostly to lower productivity.
Norway was the top performer with income per capita, which is gross domestic product divided by population, of about $48,000 U.S. Canada had income per capita of $36,138 U.S., which earned it a "C" grade, the report said.
Canada got a "D" grade on attracting foreign investment while Belgium was the "runaway" leader on this kind of investment, the report said.
The country's low grade could be due to productivity, taxes and regulatory concerns, according to the experts.
Canada got a "C" for the country's firms investing globally but lagged far behind the top performers, Belgium and Switzerland, the report said.
