In today’s economy, shaped by uncertainty, rapid change and intense competitive pressure, productivity has become a decisive lever for entrepreneurs. Far beyond a question of output, it is about building smarter processes, embracing automation and integrating artificial intelligence to unlock efficiency and transform business models.
As the bank for entrepreneurs, BDC plays an essential role in supporting Canadian businesses wanting to explore these opportunities. The organization is committed to helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) succeed through access to financing, tailored advisory services and practical tools that drive competitiveness.
The ALL IN team sat down with Véronique Dorval, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at BDC, to understand the central role played by BDC in building Canada’s economy. Since 2022, she has overseen BDC’s Financing, Growth & Transition Capital and Advisory Services, ensuring that entrepreneurs benefit from integrated solutions with measurable impact. With over two decades of leadership experience in strategy, transformation and client experience at Sun Life and McKinsey & Company, she brings deep expertise on how businesses can turn productivity into lasting growth.
Discover the full interview below.
ALL IN: “Productivity” is a term frequently mentioned in discussions about national and SME performance. But what does it truly mean?
Véronique Dorval: Labour productivity measures the real gross domestic product (GDP) produced per hour worked in a country. For businesses, it represents the value added in goods or services per hour or employee. Productivity is crucial for financial performance and business success.
At its core, productivity is about working smarter, not harder. It’s about efficiency in converting input to output — streamlining operations, reducing waste, and achieving more with less. For businesses, this translates to greater efficiency, smarter resource utilization, and the agility to adapt swiftly. Often, this is driven by improved processes and the right technology, methods and equipment.
A practical first step is to benchmark your efficiency to understand your room for improvement. SMEs can utilize various tools. BDC, for example, provides a free Workforce Efficiency Benchmarking Tool to entrepreneurs so that they can compare their business’ productivity with industry peers. This user-friendly tool guides smarter investment and growth decisions.
ALL IN: How should entrepreneurs drive productivity improvements?
Véronique Dorval: To boost productivity, entrepreneurs can start by identifying gaps in their critical processes. This is known as the “order to cash” cycle, which covers all activities from receiving a customer order to processing the payment. Next, they can compare their current state to their desired state. The gap between them represents your opportunity for improvement. The desired state can be an incremental change or a significant step change, depending on your context and resources. Incremental changes offer smaller gains with less investment, while step changes require significant investment and innovation but yield larger gains. Entrepreneurs can choose the approach that best fits their situation and work on eliminating inefficiencies or waste.
In our recent report on productivity, we highlight the 8 main types of waste:
ALL IN: In a world of so many competing priorities and noise, why should businesses focus on productivity?
Véronique Dorval: Simply put: Because it pays off. The most productive companies generate six times more sales and four times more profit… with the same number of employees. They get there by improving processes, embracing innovation, and adopting smart technology.
One simple way to take action is the “5-hour hack”: if every small and medium-sized business in the country could gain five hours of productive work a month, the country’s GDP could rise by 1.2%, equivalent to approximately $700 per capita.
Aiming for a five-hour gain transforms this opportunity into a tangible goal. This small shift can lead to significant outcomes. Whether you’re a team of five or fifty, gaining five hours a month is achievable—and you can start today.
As a country, our productivity gap is widening—and it’s costing the economy billions. For over 20 years, productivity in Canada has grown at just half the pace of the United States’, leaving it 28% behind its southern neighbour and 18% below the G7 average. We now rank 27th out of 37 OECD countries for GDP per capita. Imagine all the progress we could make here!
This matters because national productivity growth is directly tied to collective wealth and wage increases. Boosting labour productivity is key to improving not only the resilience of businesses, but the standard of living for us as a country, as Canadians.
ALL IN: Can AI adoption be a game changer?
Véronique Dorval: Yes, it absolutely can, when employed purposely and in a clear, targeted way. For this, you need to understand what works best in your case and make the right choices. It goes back to that practical first step of benchmarking your efficiency to understand where to start. Identify small, easy wins to give yourself confidence, then explore larger, more significant investments.
A July 2025 OECD study points out that Canada is well-positioned for future AI adoption, mainly due to its higher adoption rate across sectors, especially in real estate and finance. Adoption rates in Canada resemble the US much more than in other G7 countries. The organization projects that almost 50% of Canadian businesses will adopt AI by 2034 under a medium-paced adoption scenario. With this scenario, labour productivity is expected to increase by 9% in the next 10 years, solely due to AI. To put this into context, for the last 10 years (2015 to 2024), Canadian productivity increased by 4.8% overall. This amounted to an average annual increase of 0.5% per year.
Artificial intelligence isn’t just hype—it’s most definitely a productivity powerhouse. That’s something we should keep in mind as we adopt AI and change the way we work.
ALL IN: How can AI contribute to improving productivity for Canadian SMEs?
Véronique Dorval: AI can be integrated into businesses in 3 different ways:
- By adopting AI tools to make your employees more productive (Copilot comes to mind here).
- By integrating AI in your processes to make them more efficient. To name a few: Robotic Process Automation for back-office tasks, AI in HR to screen resumes, AI in production and logistics to optimize routes or automate ordering, etc.
- By rethinking your value proposition to leverage AI at the core of your offering.
Vortex Aquatic Structures International (Pointe-Claire, QC) is a concrete example of how an investment in AI technology can pay off. You can read more about them on our website (https://www.bdc.ca/en/testimonials/vortex). We worked with them to develop an AI-readiness roadmap, including a list of feasible projects, resources and suppliers. The company also developed plans for an Internet scraping tool to obtain valuable investment information and a customer service chatbot for post-sales support.
ALL IN: What are some of the important enablers that entrepreneurs are considering for the adoption of AI?
Véronique Dorval: We view this as a practical guide for businesses adopting AI to enhance productivity. Our Data to AI program, launched nearly a year ago, focuses on five key aspects to equip businesses with the necessary solutions and tools.
- AI adoption should align to strategic or operational priorities to boost productivity. It's not an end in itself but a means to achieve higher productivity.
- Ensure you have solid and clean data; this is one of the most important inputs into a successful future state.
- Decide whether to buy or build AI solutions by exploring existing tools and platforms first; if they don't meet your needs, consider custom solutions.
- Get your team on board with an AI adoption champion and training. Continuously adjust and improve.
- Lastly, establish solid rules for privacy, cybersecurity, and transparency to build trust with your team and customers.
—
At ALL IN 2025, Véronique will share her insights during the panel “AI-Powered Economies: How Automation Is Reshaping Productivity and Innovation” on the Forum Stage, on September 24.
To be part of the conversation and connect with Canada’s vibrant AI ecosystem, we invite you to join us at ALL IN 2025 on September 24 and 25 at the Palais des congrès in Montréal. This international-scale event will bring together more than 6,000 participants, including business leaders, researchers, investors and policy makers, alongside 200 world-class speakers and delegations from over 40 countries. It will be a unique opportunity to explore global trends, share concrete experiences and identify new avenues for growth.
Join us at ALL IN 2025 and take part in shaping the conversations that will define the future of AI.
