Tag Archives: global economy

Finance

8 “Canadian” Companies Quietly Owned by Foreign Investors

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Our friends at MSN have really stirred the maple syrup pot up with this story- which one of the following companies is the most surprising for you? Leave us a note in the comments section at the bottom of the article.

Many beloved Canadian brands that fill shopping carts and homes across the country have something surprising in common—they’re actually owned by foreign investors and companies. Behind familiar logos and proud Canadian histories stand international corporations that have quietly acquired these businesses, often maintaining their strong local identity while decisions are made overseas.

This eye-opening list reveals 8 well-known Canadian companies that now operate under foreign ownership.

While these businesses still employ thousands of Canadians and remain important parts of communities nationwide, their profits and major corporate choices flow to boardrooms in places like the United States, Europe, and Asia. Each example shows how Canada’s business landscape has evolved in today’s global economy.

Tim Hortons

©Image credit: “Tim Horton’s” by EazyIanish is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.

A Canadian fast-food icon, Tim Hortons has been owned by Restaurant Brands International since 2014, with its headquarters in Toronto but major control from Brazil-based 3G Capital. The beloved coffee chain started in Hamilton, Ontario in 1964 as a single donut shop. Today, it serves millions of customers daily across Canada and has expanded into 14 countries. The Brazilian investment firm maintains the Canadian feel of the brand while pushing for global growth.

Hudson’s Bay Company

©Image credit: “Hudson’s Bay Company store, Montréal, South view 20170410 1” by DXR is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/?ref=openverse.

Hudson’s Bay Company, founded in 1670, is now owned by American businessman Richard Baker’s NRDC Equity Partners. The historic retailer shifted from Canadian ownership in 2008 through a $1.1 billion deal. HBC continues to operate The Bay stores across Canada while managing an extensive real estate portfolio. The company maintains its Canadian identity despite being controlled from south of the border.

Cirque du Soleil

©Image credit: “Cirque du Soleil” by _nadya is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/?ref=openverse.

The Montreal-based entertainment company, famous for its artistic circus shows, was acquired by TPG Capital, a U.S. private equity firm, in 2015. Following financial difficulties during the pandemic, ownership changed again in 2020 to a group including Catalyst Capital Group. The company still creates its shows in Montreal. The creative spirit of Cirque remains distinctly Quebec-based despite foreign investment control.

Canada Goose

©Image credit: Tima Miroshnichenko/Pexels

The luxury winter coat maker, started in Toronto in 1957, sold a majority stake to U.S.-based Bain Capital in 2013. The company continues to manufacture its core products in Canada, maintaining its made-in-Canada promise. The brand has expanded globally under foreign ownership while keeping its Canadian headquarters. The international success of Canada Goose proves that Canadian craftsmanship can thrive under foreign ownership.

Rona

©Image credit: “2013_03_20” by Dennis S. Hurd is marked with CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/?ref=openverse.

The Canadian hardware retailer Rona underwent major ownership changes in recent years. After operating independently for decades, the Quebec-based chain was acquired by U.S. home improvement leader Lowe’s in a $3.2 billion deal completed in 2016. However, Lowe’s ownership proved relatively short-lived. In 2023, the American retailer divested Rona, selling it to Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm headquartered in New York, for $2.4 billion. Despite these corporate transitions, Rona maintained its distinct brand identity in the Canadian home improvement marketplace.

St-Hubert

©Image credit: Viridiana Rivera/Pexels

Ontario-based CARA Operations (now Recipe Unlimited) purchased Quebec’s St-Hubert restaurants for $537 million in 2016. The restaurant chain, founded in Montreal in 1951, maintains its distinct Quebec identity. Multiple foreign investment firms hold significant stakes in Recipe Unlimited through the parent company MTY Food Group. The company continues operating across Quebec while major business decisions are made outside the province.

Westjet

©image Credit: Justin Hu on Unsplash

In 2019, Toronto-based Onex Corporation acquired Westjet for $5 billion, with significant backing from international investors and foreign private equity firms. The airline maintains its headquarters in Calgary and continues operating as a Canadian carrier. Major foreign institutional investors hold substantial positions through Onex Corporation. While preserving its Canadian operations, the company’s ownership structure includes significant international investment.

Petro-Canada Stations

©Image credit: “Petro-Canada gas station, Eglinton Avenue West and Avenue Road (6035679276)” by Toronto History from Toronto, Canada is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.

Suncor Energy owns Petro-Canada stations, with significant foreign institutional investors holding major stakes. The company merged with Suncor in 2009 in a $19 billion deal. Petro-Canada remains a prominent Canadian retail fuel brand. International investment firms hold substantial voting shares in the parent company.

Shoppers Drug Mart

©Image credit: “Shoppers Drug Mart Store Canada” by bargainmoose is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.

Loblaw Companies Limited, a Canadian company, acquired Shoppers Drug Mart in 2014 for $12.4 billion. Despite its Canadian roots, the pharmacy chain has significant foreign institutional investment. Under this foreign ownership, Shoppers Drug Mart continues to expand its healthcare services across Canada.

Featured image/ ©Image credit: Erik Mclean/Pexels

Finance

World Economic Forum- Why Experts Expect Global Growth

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82% of chief economists expect the global economy to remain stable or strengthen this year – almost twice as many as in late 2023
Over two-thirds predict a sustained rebound of global growth, driven by technological transformation, artificial intelligence and the green transition.
There is near-unanimity that geopolitics and domestic politics will drive economic volatility this year. Read the May 2024 Chief Economist Outlook here

Geneva, Switzerland,May 2024 – The latest Chief Economists Outlook released today presents a growing sense of cautious optimism about the global economy in 2024. More than eight in ten chief economists expect the global economy to either strengthen or remain stable this year – nearly double the proportion in the previous report. The share of those predicting a downturn in global conditions declined from 56% in January to 17%.
 
But geopolitical and domestic political tensions cloud the horizon. Some 97% of respondents anticipate that geopolitics will contribute to global economic volatility this year. A further 83% said domestic politics will be a source of volatility in 2024, a year when nearly half the world’s population is voting.
 
“The latest Chief Economists Outlook points to welcome but tentative signs of improvement in the global economic climate,” said Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. “This underscores the increasingly complex landscape that leaders are navigating. There is an urgent need for policy-making that not only looks to revive the engines of the global economy but also seeks to put in place the foundations of more inclusive, sustainable and resilient growth.”
 
Regional variations
 
Growth expectations have improved, though unevenly, across the globe. The survey reveals a significant boost in the outlook for the United States, where nearly all chief economists (97%) now expect moderate to strong growth this year, up from 59% in January.
 
Asian economies also appear robust, with all respondents projecting at least moderate growth in the South Asia and East Asia and Pacific regions. Expectations for China are slightly less optimistic, with three-quarters expecting moderate growth and only 4% predicting strong growth this year.
 
By contrast, the outlook for Europe remains gloomy, with nearly 70% of economists predicting weak growth for the remainder of 2024. Other regions are expected to experience broadly moderate growth, with a slight improvement since the previous survey.



A challenging landscape for decision-makers
 
The latest survey highlights the escalating challenges confronting businesses and policy-makers. Tensions between political and economic dynamics will be a growing challenge for decision-makers this year, according to 86% of respondents, while 79% expect heightened complexity to weigh on decision-making.
 
Among the factors expected to affect corporate decision-making are the overall health of the global economy (cited by 100%), monetary policy (86%), financial markets (86%), labour market conditions (79%), geopolitics (86%) and domestic politics (71%). Notably, 73% of economists believe that companies’ growth objectives will drive decision-making, almost double the proportion that cited the role of companies’ environmental and social goals (37%).
 
Long-term prospects and priorities
 
Most chief economists are upbeat about the prospects for a sustained rebound in global growth, with nearly 70% expecting a return to 4% growth in the next five years (42% within three years). In high-income countries, they expect growth to be driven by technological transformation, artificial intelligence, and the green and energy transition. However, opinions are divided on the impact of these factors in low-income economies. There is greater consensus on the factors that will be a drag on growth, with geopolitics, domestic politics, debt levels, climate change and social polarization expected to dampen growth in both high- and low-income economies.



In terms of the policy levers most likely to foster growth in the next five years, the most important across the board are innovation, infrastructure development, monetary policy, and education and skills. Low-income economies are seen as having more to gain from interventions relating to institutions, social services and access to finance compared to high-income economies. There is a notable lack of consensus on the impact for growth of environmental and industrial policies.
 
About the Chief Economists Outlook Report
The Chief Economists Outlook builds on the latest policy development research as well as consultations and surveys with leading chief economists from both the public and private sectors, organized by the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the New Economy and Society. It aims to summarize the emerging contours of the current economic environment and identify priorities for further action by policy-makers and business leaders in response to the compounding shocks to the global economy. The survey featured in this briefing was conducted in April 2024.
 
The Chief Economists Outlook supports the World Economic Forum’s Future of Growth Initiative, a two-year campaign aimed at inspiring discussion and action on charting new pathways for economic growth and supporting policy-makers in balancing growth, innovation, inclusion, sustainability and resilience goals. Learn more about the Future of Growth Initiative here.
The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. (www.weforum.org).
Culture

Africa without vaccines while Canada doses are wasted

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Canada just moved from having enough doses to vaccinate every Canadian, into a surplus position.

This also means that Canada reached a new very problematic milestone. Doses are going bad in Canada, while desperate people, including frontline health workers in Africa, are still struggling to get access to vaccines.

None of us are safe until all of us are safe. We know this pandemic isn’t truly over until it is over everywhere. Canada MUST share more of our excess doses now. Canada MUST resist the urge to offer 3rd dose “boosters” to healthy Canadians (some of whom are getting them in order to vacation in the Caribbean) while nurses in Senegal are still unprotected.

We have more than enough vaccines, others don’t.

Africa is facing a COVID-19 crisis, cases are surging and the continent is heading towards a global catastrophe. Over the last month deaths from COVID in Africa have increased 80%. Only roughly 3% of Africans have received the first shot, and the continent is not on track to vaccinate 10% of its population by the end of the year. The WHO’s Bruce Aylward said this should be “a scar on all of our consciences.”

What can Canada do?

Meanwhile in Canada, Prime Minister Trudeau announced on July 27th that with 66 million doses received, we have enough to fully vaccinate every eligible Canadian. We have now reached a point where the supply of vaccine exceeds demand, and already Astra Zeneca doses have been thrown away and Moderna vaccines are sitting in freezers nearing their expiry dates.

Canada is the country that has ordered the most vaccines per person: counting optional purchases, enough to vaccinate each Canadian 5 times. Unless the excess doses are shared right now, we could end-up throwing away millions of doses while most of the rest of the world remains unvaccinated. This is a scandal that we cannot let happen.

Vaccines being discarded is not a theoretical concern. In addition to the 300,000 doses from Johnson and Johnson that were discarded due to a manufacturing issue, thousands of Astra Zeneca doses have already been wasted in Canada because they could not be used before their expiry dates. With this vaccine barely been used in anymore, there may be thousands more sitting in freezers or the garbage, and provinces are coy about how many they may be throwing away.  The same is starting to happen with Moderna, with pharmacists unable to put some of the doses they have in arms.

Figure 1: A tale of two pandemics
While Canada is in a very good position, some African countries are seeing an increase in cases with a very small share of their population vaccinated.


Canada has so far committed to share 30.7 million doses with COVAX, the global vaccine distribution mechanism, including a recent pledge to donate the remainder of our Astra Zeneca orders. But there has been no confirmation of when these donated vaccines might reach countries in need.

In addition, new analysis by the ONE Campaign based on data from analytics firm AirFinity shows that at the current rate, Canada will end-up with between 16 and 42 million more vaccines piling up in freezers or thrown away by Christmas, while the pandemic continues raging on in Africa and the developing world.

We not only have a moral obligation to share doses, it is in our own best interest to stop the global spread and emergence of new variants. Until then, more preventable deaths will occur and Canada’s own recovery will be threatened by a shaky global economy. According to the IMF, failing to help the developing world defeat Covid-19 could cost the global economy US$4.5 trillion.

The time to donate more doses is now. Lives depend on it.

Africa is experiencing an increasingly urgent COVID crisis and needs at least 200 million vaccine doses by the end of September to slow the spread and prevent more needless deaths. Canada should immediately transfer all incoming vaccine orders to COVAX, beyond ensuring that there are enough for every Canadians to be fully vaccinated. This should mean at least 12 million more doses shared before the end of September, and in total 16-42 million vaccines donated before the end of the year if we want to end the pandemic and avoid unimaginable waste.

Vaccines being discarded is not a theoretical concern. In addition to the 300,000 doses from Johnson and Johnson that were discarded due to a manufacturing issue, thousands of Astra Zeneca doses have already been wasted in Canada because they could not be used before their expiry dates. With this vaccine barely been used in anymore, there may be thousands more sitting in freezers or the garbage, and provinces are coy about how many they may be throwing away.  The same is starting to happen with Moderna, with pharmacists unable to put some of the doses they have in arms.

It may be tempting for the Government to keep vaccines stockpiled just in case boosters may be needed. But the evidence so far on the need for boosters is far from conclusive, and many experts have warned that it would be counterproductive to start giving third doses to healthy people in rich countries while at-risk populations have not yet had their first shot in developing countries. Stockpiling a product with a short shelf life will inevitably lead to a lot of waste. In any case, Canada has already ordered up to 60 million more doses of Pfizer a year for the next 3 years in case boosters are needed.

The excess doses we have coming in the next 5 months must urgently be shared with countries in need to stem the pandemic globally. Variants spreading around the world pose a threat to Canadians. The longer we wait to vaccinate the world, the more variants we will see and the longer this vicious cycle will continue. The time to donating more doses is now. Lives depend on it.

Up to 42 million doses could go unused in Canada by Christmas

By December 2021, Canada will have received at least 92 million doses of the four vaccines currently approved by Health Canada (Moderna, Pfizer, Astra Zeneca and Johnson & Johnson). If Medicago and Novavax post positive Phase 3 results and are also approved, total supply could increase to 117 million doses. [1]

To fully vaccinate every Canadian, including children under 12 should vaccines be approved for them, 76 million doses will be required in total. These are highly optimistic projections of actual demand, since it is unlikely that 100% of the population will want to be vaccinated.

This means that between 16 and 42 million excess vaccines risk being stockpiled or wasted in Canada by the end of the year. The higher scenario means our excess vaccines would be enough to fully vaccinate everyone in a country like Burkina Faso this year. Right now, 0.01% of people are fully vaccinated in Burkina Faso. For the Silo, Justin McAuley.

Figure 2: A growing stockpile
Even accounting for the already-announced donations, Canada will have millions of excess vaccines

[1] This excludes the 30 million doses already donated to Covax.

Sci-Tech

VisaNet Connects Two And A Half Billion Credit Cards

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One of the many ways the Internet is driving the global economy is through digital payments, making it easy for consumers to buy just about anything from anywhere. VisaNet is the largest payment processing network in the world, connecting 2.4 billion credit cards at 36 million locations across 200 countries.

Politics

Minister of Agriculture: Ontario Liberal’s Rural Platform Will Mean Progress

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“FORWARD. TOGETHER.” ONTARIO LIBERALS LAUNCH RURAL PLATFORM
A Plan To Build A Strong Rural Ontario

ATWOOD — Ontario Liberals’ new rural platform will mean real, measurable progress for rural Ontario families, Carol Mitchell, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in the Ontario Liberal Government said today.

“What we’ve achieved together with rural Ontarians in the past eight years is nothing short of amazing,” Mitchell said. “Today, we’re supporting rural Ontario and our family farms through Ontario’s first permanent Risk Management Program — the biggest commitment to our farmers in over 25 years. We’re on track. But there is more to do.”

The Ontario Liberal platform for rural Ontario, entitled, “Forward. Together” is a plan to help rural families meet the challenges we face as we emerge from the global recession.
Some of the key elements of the plan for rural Ontario include:

• Improving municipal infrastructure and public services, especially in areas such as municipal drainage infrastructure, continuing to reverse the reckless PC downloads that put our rural communities at risk;
• Continuing to bring more healthy, locally grown food to families through our commitment to promote local foods through key initiatives, such as The Foodland Ontario program, The Ontario Farmers’ Markets Strategy, and ongoing collaboration with Ontario’s retail and food service sectors;
• Increasing support, through our Rural Economic Development Program, for agri-food businesses that have created and kept more than 15,000 jobs and generated nearly $500 million in economic activity across the province;
• Making the Eastern Ontario Development Fund permanent, and creating a new Southwestern Ontario Economic Development Fund to help communities attract the jobs of tomorrow;
• Creating a new Specialist High Skills Major in food processing in all Ontario schools, helping build skills in food and agriculture;
• Supporting supply management in international trade talks and fighting for its place in the Canadian farming community;
• Keeping our commitment to clean energy, that’s creating 50,000 jobs and has already provided opportunities for 20,000 farmers who have applied for MicroFIT contracts — with almost 11,000 already turning on cleaner sources of power like wind and solar.

“These are uncertain times for the global economy. These are challenging times for our rural families. This is our plan to help. This is our way forward, together,” Mitchell said.
The Hudak PCs have a $14 billion hole in their platform — that means downloads and deep cuts that will put our economy, education and health care at risk. The Horwath NDP would introduce a crushing $9 billion in taxes on our job creating businesses. The opposition would create chaos and conflict at a time when Ontario needs certainty.

The full rural platform is available at theontarioway.ca

For further information
Ontario Liberal Party Media Office:
416 961-3800 ext. 328