Construction productivity has flatlined for 25 years: Batimatech unveils a white paper to reverse the trend

"Tomorrow Is Built Today": a data-driven diagnosis and concrete pathways for a sector central to Quebec's economy.

MONTRÉAL, Sept. 16, 2026 /CNW/ -- Batimatech, a non-profit organization serving as a catalyst for innovation in construction, real estate, technology and sustainable development, has released its first sector white paper, "Tomorrow Is Built Today: Productivity, Innovation and Affordability in the Construction Industry." Drawing on data from Statistics Canada, the OECD and the World Bank, the report offers a diagnosis and a roadmap for modernizing a sector that carries significant economic weight, yet struggles to gain in productivity.

The finding is striking: construction productivity has grown by just 0.21 percent a year over the past 25 years, compared with 1.44 percent in services. The industry is highly fragmented, with 78 percent of firms employing five people or fewer, and a building permit takes an average of 249 days in Canada.

The white paper details the levers that can reverse the trend, including smarter data management, prefabrication, robotics and artificial intelligence, and proposes structural reforms on training and administrative burden. It also turns to housing affordability, showing why building faster and at lower cost will not, on its own, close the widening gap between housing prices and what households can afford.

"The construction industry stands at a crossroads. The tools to transform it already exist; what is still too often missing is the channel through which they reach the industry as a whole. This white paper is our contribution to building that bridge."

-- Francis Bissonnette, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Batimatech

Co-authored by Francis Bissonnette and economist Édouard Lacerte, the white paper will be presented on September 29, during the opening of the Grand Batimatech 2026, at the Palais des congrès de Montréal.

For media

Full white paper: batimatech.com/en/white-paper-tomorrow-is-built-today. Visuals available on request.

About Batimatech

Batimatech is a non-profit organization serving as a catalyst for the construction, real estate, technology and sustainable development sectors, with a mission to foster innovation, collaboration and the integration of new technologies across the industry.

SOURCE Batimatech

Source and media inquiries: Francis Bissonnette, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Batimatech, [email protected], 514-238-4664