The Latest

What happens when a Canadian toy company, a global trade war and the unraveling of American stability collide? Charting in the top 10 on Apple Podcasts, the new Gloves Off podcast talks to Zita Cobb of Fogo Island Inn and Jon Shell of Social Capital Partners about what comes after the collapse of business as usual. Listen for bold ideas on how Canada can prevent getting stuck playing America’s game—and losing.

Canada should lead the world’s middle powers in a collective and overdue weaning from American primacy by establishing a grand new security and economic alliance. As SCP Chair Jon Shell argues in The Hill Times, ten countries including Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, the U.K., Spain, Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands, or the “Core 10," would amount to about the same GDP as the U.S., with significant natural resources, massive buying power - and significant leverage against American economic aggression.

The wrecking ball that Donald Trump has taken to international trade has wounded relations between Hamilton businesses and their American suppliers and customers, reports Eugene Ellman in Hamilton City Magazine. Now, they’re looking east and west to replace traditional links to the south and pushing back. When Trump started pontificating about how Canada should become the 51st state and claiming the United States was subsidizing its northern neighbour, SCP Founder Bill Young and the team responded with Always Canada. Never 51 - part economic populism mixed with methodical policy-making, the series is devoted to the issues of wealth inequality and Canadian sovereignty.

If we allow for private equity ownership of law firms, it isn’t unreasonable to expect a similar result as we are seeing in other professions—lower quality of service and work for clients and lower job satisfaction for lawyers. In an op-ed for Bloomberg Law, SCP Fellow Rachel Wasserman of Wasserman Business Law outlines why law firms should decentralize, not consolidate, to provide good service and keep lower overhead.

We predicted that American investors would be looking to buy up Canadian businesses and assets, and that this would threaten our national security and economic sovereignty. Now Canada has to make a call on whether to kill Texas-based energy giant Sunoco's takeover of Parkland Corporation. In the Toronto Star, SCP CEO Matthew Mendelsohn and Chair Jon Shell ask: do we want to be owned by American billionaires, to work for them and have our wealth stripped away to pad bank accounts in New York and Dallas? If we really want Canada to remain ours, they argue, then we need to think and act like it.

CBC News profiles new advocacy group Patriotic Millionaires Canada who say their organization is looking for broad changes to wealth taxes and capital gains in this country. The group says it believes lower-income citizens often pay tax on much of their income, while wealthier investors can leverage dividends, investments and capital gains to change what they pay and how. Chair Claire Trottier asks: when are we going to recognize that massive growing runaway wealth inequality is a danger to democracy?"

As Trump’s mercurial tariff mandate unleashes market mayhem and geopolitical unease, Canadians have galvanized—buying local, putting the maple leaf on everything, ratcheting our elbows way up. Over the course of a dozen sessions at Public Policy Forum’s 2025 Canada Growth Summit, more than 40 speakers, including SCP's CEO Matthew Mendelsohn, put forward a series of smart, actionable ideas for how governments, businesses, policymakers and communities can work together to advance our collective fortunes.

While Canada’s policymakers try to figure out how to make the Canadian economy less vulnerable to Trump’s whims, many Canadian businesses are going to look like a good deal for American investors. A weak Canadian dollar, low interest rates and expected liquidity challenges create the conditions for an acceleration of private equity-led buyouts of Canadian firms. In ImpactAlpha, SCP's CEO Matthew Mendelsohn explains how, as Canada faces Trump’s mercurial and predatory approach to trade and economic policy, employee ownership can offer much-needed stability and resilience.

Sabrina Maddeaux and Michael Moffatt explore how the inability to afford housing not only affects individuals but also poses systemic risks to the Canadian economy and society. They delve into the implications of economic vulnerability, the talent exodus to the U.S. and the growing disconnection among younger generations, emphasizing the urgent need for a cohesive housing policy that addresses these interconnected issues to ensure a stable and resilient future for Canada.

With Canada’s sovereignty at stake, we must invest in every approach to keeping Canadian businesses in Canadian hands. If we match the U.K.'s success in incentivizing employee-ownership conversion, we would see 300 Canadian companies sold to their workers each year. SCP Chair Jon Shell and Employee Ownership Canada CEO Michael Ras explain how very few policies promise as powerful an outcome.

For Canada to build a more resilient economy, we must secure local assets, democratize the economy and ensure wealth circulates within communities rather than being extracted by distant, corporate interests. In The Conversation, SCP Fellow Audrey Jamal and Heather M. Hachigian write that a promising solution lies in community wealth building.

If Canada were to build a civil defence program on the scale of those in Sweden or Finland, the numbers would be game-changing. As MASS LBP principal Peter MacLeod lays out in The Tyee, Canadians must be prepared to defend our sovereignty and citizens have roles to play.

Trump’s tariff threats have opened the door for economic thinking that pushes Canada way past business as usual. In Policy Options, Executive Director of the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project Keldon Bester argues that, from airlines to banks, fixing Canada’s competition problem starts with smarter domestic reforms.

When U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to launch a full-blown trade war with its closest ally, many Canadians felt as if their best friend had suddenly turned around and stabbed them in the back. The Star spoke with economists, academics and other experts, including SCP CEO Matthew Mendelsohn, about how the country should best navigate this new era of Trump's isolationism, and found there are realistic steps we can take to reduce our dependence on the States.

SCP Fellow Rachel Wasserman speaks with CBC's Steven D'Souza as part of an investigation into the skyrocketing cost of owning a pet. The documentary reveals how independent vet clinics are being gobbled up by multinational corporations and private equity for profit.

SCP Chair Jon Shell sits down with Andy Farquharson on The Alternative Exit Podcast to explore the transformative potential of employee ownership. Jon recounts how he advocated for Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) in Canada to address wealth inequality and business succession. He talks advantages of EOTs, from preserving a company’s legacy to fostering economic resilience in the workforce and reshaping both business culture and wealth distribution.

Rising rents are pushing mom-and-pop shops off Canada's streets. In Canadian Business, Aaron Binder and SCP Fellow Liliana Locke (née Camacho) from the Better Way Alliance argue new commercial tenant protections are the answer.

Is alternative ownership the future of business in Canada? Shane Gibson from Future of Good reports on how converting to a non-profit, establishing an Employee Ownership Trust, or becoming a co-operative can help a small business become more sustainable, ensure job security and retain wealth within the community.

SCP Chair Jon Shell in the Toronto Sun on what Employee Ownership Trusts mean for business owners, the community and the broader economy

When outside interests take over a small or medium business, it's often purchased then closed, leaving holes in the community. Future of Good reports on how new laws could encourage more retiring business owners to sell to their employees through Employee Ownership Trusts. EOTs help businesses stay local and contribute to employee retention and financial wealth.