"There is a productivity gap between Canada and its largest trading partners, and the main drivers of our economy — small and medium-sized businesses — are productivity laggards," he said in Halifax on Wednesday.

Mr. Sorgen cited Canadian Chamber of Commerce statistics showing that current Canadian living standards are 20 per cent below those of the U.S and that small- and medium-sized businesses, which make up 95 per cent of Canadian companies, are less productive than larger organizations.

"What makes this fact even more worrisome is that Canada is not just competing with the United States. We are competing in a global economy," he said. "Businesses here in Halifax and in Atlantic Canada will now not only have to worry about competing with Toronto, New York, L.A. and Mexico City, but also with firms in Sao Paulo, Moscow, Mumbai and Beijing."

Mr. Sorgen, a New York native who took over three months ago as president of Microsoft Canada, based in Mississauga, Ont., said in an interview that he isn’t an expert on the Canadian economy. But he singled out three areas in which he thought the country could improve its competitive position: creating a culture of innovation, improving education and removing systemic innovation barriers.

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