The Latest

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.

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.

Mark Carney made a speech last week and many people had plenty to say about it. But one of his replies during the Q & A deserves more attention than it received. MP Nate Erskine-Smith asked Carney what he would do about Canada’s growing wealth inequality. Carney’s answer was a bit unfocused, but he made two points clearly: 1) Let’s hope wealthy people give more to charity, and 2) We shouldn’t only focus on redistribution.

Social Capital Partner's Director of Policy Dan Skilleter summarizes the key findings of his recent report "Billionaire Blindspot" in a Toronto Star Opinion piece.

Search funds allow entrepreneurs without capital to buy small businesses. However, only an exclusive club can access the financing to do so and are often forced to re-sell their businesses. We’ve put a twist on the search-fund model to make it more inclusive and long-term.

Small, independent businesses are the backbone of our economy. Unfortunately, they’ve become harder to start and struggle to compete with large chains. We’ve been inspired by owner-owned cooperatives that help small businesses thrive.

What are reasonable profitability targets for a social enterprise start-up with a mission to create employment for disadvantaged populations? How does external financing play a role in the execution of the social mission and how does a social mission as a key part of the business model impact the ability to reach profitability targets? SCP showcases one of our early investments and highlights key learnings about the inherent mission tensions in these business models.

SCP reports on six years of TurnAround Couriers, a social-purpose business dedicated to helping at-risk youth in the Greater Toronto Area overcome social and economic obstacles by providing them with a chance to get ahead.