11 ms·

It's not an oversimplification; it's the cruel reality of Canada outside of the major urban centres, where relatively tiny companies can flourish before either

It's not an oversimplification; it's the cruel reality of Canada outside of the major urban centres, where relatively tiny companies can flourish before either listing themselves on a foreign exchange, being purchased, or failing. In every major sector of the Canadian economy you'll find one or two dominant corporations, and most of them are helmed by, or advised by, hereditary rulership; sometimes you'll find a cartel operating with the support of the provincial government. IE, basically nothing is done in the Maritimes without the approval of the Irvings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Group_of_Companies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Group_of_Companies Sometimes it seems like there's competition and diversity in the market, but in practice there's not. Like in BC, where Forestry appears to have many players, but they mostly isolate themselves from one another and form a monopoly in their regions and they negotiate together with the Province to set the terms of their business; and the very small forestry corporations often take their product to market through channels provided by the larger players. Where I live, the local Forestry company has been barricading public access roads and using rentacops to drive people off Crown Land; and it's tolerated and allowed, because forestry companies are given great leeway to act above the law.

cbsmith 4y ago
> It's not an oversimplification; it's the cruel reality of Canada outside of the major urban centres, where relatively tiny companies can flourish before either listing themselves on a foreign exchange, being purchased, or failing. Sure, if you exclude the vast majority of the country, there's really not a lot there. ;--) Seriously, by the kind estimates of statscan, outside the major population centers you have just over six and a half million people (and that's after the big bump from COVID-19 migration). I think those six and a half million are about as financially independent as you could reasonable expect from an economy that is expressly outside of even local financial & trade centers. > Where I live, the local Forestry company has been barricading public access roads and using rentacops to drive people off Crown Land; and it's tolerated and allowed, because forestry companies are given great leeway to act above the law. Very much unlike, say the US, where large corporations are routinely reigned in by government oversight? ;-)
- dleslie 4y ago
  Outside of urban centres Canadians survive at the behest of the local largest employer. In some places that's forestry, some it's fisheries, some it's oil, some canola, tourism, etc. And usually it's the one big employer, surrounded by small employers that exist as a result of the opportunities that flourish around the big one. If by reasonably independent you mean almost wholly dependent, then sure. It's why the Tories do so well out there; when Grit and NDP policies seem hell bent on gutting or decimating the local employer the decision of who to vote for is a matter of paying the bills and keeping the heat on. > Very much unlike, say the US, where large corporations are routinely reigned in by government oversight? ;-) At least in the USA it's far easier to raise capital, and regulatory capture hasn't yet gotten so bad that new entrants are completely shut out of major industries.
  - cbsmith 4y ago
    > If by reasonably independent you mean almost wholly dependent, then sure. First, I've lived in company towns, and there's definitely a thing in Canada, but not all towns outside of major population areas in Canada are company towns (if for no other reason than there just aren't enough companies to cover them all, and in some places the population is too sparse to really have an economic system that ties them all to one employer). There's plenty of towns with no major employer. But yeah, if you are outside of local economic centers, you're either at the whim of those economic centers or you've got your own conglomerate/co-op that collectively gives the local community some leverage with the larger economy that's out there. That's not specific to one country. > At least in the USA it's far easier to raise capital, and regulatory capture hasn't yet gotten so bad that new entrants are completely shut out of major industries. In the US it's far easier to raise capital, but otherwise I think there's a "grass is greener" phenomenon playing out against you.

cbsmith 4y ago

> It's not an oversimplification; it's the cruel reality of Canada outside of the major urban centres, where relatively tiny companies can flourish before either listing themselves on a foreign exchange, being purchased, or failing. Sure, if you exclude the vast majority of the country, there's really not a lot there. ;--) Seriously, by the kind estimates of statscan, outside the major population centers you have just over six and a half million people (and that's after the big bump from COVID-19 migration). I think those six and a half million are about as financially independent as you could reasonable expect from an economy that is expressly outside of even local financial & trade centers. > Where I live, the local Forestry company has been barricading public access roads and using rentacops to drive people off Crown Land; and it's tolerated and allowed, because forestry companies are given great leeway to act above the law. Very much unlike, say the US, where large corporations are routinely reigned in by government oversight? ;-)

dleslie 4y ago
Outside of urban centres Canadians survive at the behest of the local largest employer. In some places that's forestry, some it's fisheries, some it's oil, some canola, tourism, etc. And usually it's the one big employer, surrounded by small employers that exist as a result of the opportunities that flourish around the big one. If by reasonably independent you mean almost wholly dependent, then sure. It's why the Tories do so well out there; when Grit and NDP policies seem hell bent on gutting or decimating the local employer the decision of who to vote for is a matter of paying the bills and keeping the heat on. > Very much unlike, say the US, where large corporations are routinely reigned in by government oversight? ;-) At least in the USA it's far easier to raise capital, and regulatory capture hasn't yet gotten so bad that new entrants are completely shut out of major industries.
- cbsmith 4y ago
  > If by reasonably independent you mean almost wholly dependent, then sure. First, I've lived in company towns, and there's definitely a thing in Canada, but not all towns outside of major population areas in Canada are company towns (if for no other reason than there just aren't enough companies to cover them all, and in some places the population is too sparse to really have an economic system that ties them all to one employer). There's plenty of towns with no major employer. But yeah, if you are outside of local economic centers, you're either at the whim of those economic centers or you've got your own conglomerate/co-op that collectively gives the local community some leverage with the larger economy that's out there. That's not specific to one country. > At least in the USA it's far easier to raise capital, and regulatory capture hasn't yet gotten so bad that new entrants are completely shut out of major industries. In the US it's far easier to raise capital, but otherwise I think there's a "grass is greener" phenomenon playing out against you.