Local independent businesses are important to community economies. Right now, they are under threat.
Canada should not accept that a few larger players will drive up prices and extract wealth from local communities. Entrepreneurs need conditions that allow them to start a business or enter a market and have a realistic chance at success.
Our economy is being remade every day by practices that are consolidating industries and creating barriers for new entrepreneurs. Big firms and financial interests are using their position of dominance to crush smaller businesses and concentrate wealth and ownership in fewer hands.
Smaller businesses, particularly those in smaller towns and cities, are often the lifeblood of the community. Main streets are home to vet offices, daycares, shops, pharmacies and dental clinics. Continued consolidation of these businesses, often through global private equity firms, is bad for workers, communities and our economy.
Independent businesses build economic resilience and social capital. At SCP, we advocate for policies that support independent businesses and dreams of entrepreneurship.
On this topic
Feedback on the Competition Bureau’s Review of the Merger Enforcement Guidelines
There is a growing recognition, both globally and within Canada, that competition is essential to fostering a strong, resilient and productive economy. Yet, despite this consensus, the Canadian economy is becoming increasingly consolidated, and entrepreneurship is in steep decline. SCP's feedback on the Competition Bureau's Review of the Merger Enforcement Guidelines outlines our concern with serial-acquisition strategies wherein large firms acquire smaller companies in ways that evade regulatory scrutiny, and shares our recommendations to address this issue.
Consultation on the future of competition policy in Canada
Canada’s existing competition regime is unfair for small business. We surveyed over 1,000 small business owners to understand how competition policy has affected them.
A positive vision for the future of Canadian competition policy
The concentration of corporate power in Canada can be traced back to the antiquated objectives of our nation’s competition policy. Our submission to the government’s review of the Competition Act provides sharp critiques and recommendations on a path forward.
