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If you've ever returned from a trip to the States and wished we had Trader Joe's here too, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne is with you—and not just to get easier access to the World's Puffiest White Cheddar Corn Puffs, either.
Driving the news: The federal government is pushing ahead with the most serious effort to introduce more competition into Canada’s economy in decades.
- A new law is working its way through Parliament that would scrap the "efficiency defence" for mergers, a rule that makes it difficult for regulators to justify blocking mergers on competition grounds.
- Meanwhile, Canada's Minister of Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, says he's been calling international CEOs in an attempt to court more competition in key sectors like groceries, telecoms, and air travel.
Why it matters: There’s now a cross-party consensus in support of overhauling Canada’s competition rules, and some concrete steps to start the process in the works.
- If major competition reform does materialize, it could lead to significant changes in the makeup of Canada’s economy, which has become increasingly concentrated over the past twenty years.
Yes, but: The devil is in the details, and whether these changes actually lead to more competition remains to be seen. Despite talking up the virtues of competition, governments of all stripes have historically resisted entry by foreign players into key sectors and approved large mergers, opting to protect Canadian companies even at the cost of limiting competition.