Is Corporate Canada Being Hollowed Out? It All Depends Where You Are

This briefing is an excerpt from Volume I (Mission Possible: Stellar Canadian Performance in the Global Economy) of the final report of The Canada Project, Mission Possible: Sustainable Prosperity for Canada. Its premise is that while attracting our fair share of foreign direct investment (FDI) is critical to Canada’s future prosperity, the nature of that investment, the corporate form of multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in Canada— both Canadian and foreign controlled—and the specific head office and other business functions that are situated in Canada are no less important. The briefing first addresses the 1980s predictions that lowering long-established tariffs would lead to an exodus of FDI and manufacturing jobs from Canada. It then provides an overview of the work of academic researchers on the behaviour and impact of MNEs, sponsored by The Canada Project, in partnership with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.