Foreign ownership of companies of Canada has long been a controversial political issue in Canada. Concerns regarding foreign ownership generally regard ownership by individuals or companies based in the United States, though foreign ownership occurs from entities and individuals based in other countries as well. Foreign ownership refers to the complete or majority ownership/control of businesses or resources in a country, by individuals who are not citizens of that country, or by companies whose headquarters are not in that country. ...

Note that the exact definition of "foreign-owned" is debated, and that this article uses the working definition established at foreign ownership. Some estimates state that more than 50% of the petroleum and gas industry and more than 50% of all manufacturing in Canada is foreign-owned and foreign-controlled. In no foreign country does Canadian investment play a dominant role. Canada's largest foreign investment, which is in the US, gives Canadians control over only a minute portion of the US economy, in contrast to the very large fraction of the Canadian economy that is controlled by American interests. Foreign ownership refers to the complete or majority ownership/control of businesses or resources in a country, by individuals who are not citizens of that country, or by companies whose headquarters are not in that country. ...

Of note is that Canada's largest companies by value, and largest employers, tend to be foreign owned in a way that is more typical of a developing nation than a G-8 member. The best example is the automotive sector, one of Canada's most important industries. It is dominated by American, German, and Japanese giants. Although this situation is not unique to Canada in the global context, it is unique among G-8 nations, and many other relatively small nations also have national automotive companies such as Sweden's Saab or South Korea's Kia and Hyundai. G-8 work session; July 20-22, 2002. ... For other uses, see Saab (disambiguation). ... Kia has several meanings: Kia Motors is a South Korean automobile manufacturer; Kia Asamiya is a popular Japanese manga artist. ... Hyundai is a South Korean group of companies founded by Chung Joo-young in 1947 as a construction company and was once South Koreas biggest conglomerate company (Jaebul). ...

Partial list of foreign-owned companies of Canada

Foreign owned companies among Canada's current largest companies

Main article: Branch plant economy

• General Motors Canada, Canada's largest automotive manufacturer, owned by Detroit-based, General Motors
• Wal-Mart Canada, wholy owned by Wal-Mart of the US
• Toyota Canada Inc. owned by Japan's Toyota
• Ford Motor Company of Canada, owned by the American Ford company
• Imperial Oil, controlled by ExxonMobil, which owns 69.8% of its stock.
• DaimlerChrysler Canada owned by German-American giant DaimlerChrysler
• Shell Canada, which is 22% public owned, with the remainder indirectly owned by Royal Dutch Shell.
• British Petroleum Canada, owned by British Petroleum
• Mitsui and Company, part of the Japanese Mitsui empire
• Honda Canada Inc., owned by Honda of Japan
• Ultramar fuels, owned by US-based Valero
• Costco, whose Canadian operations are the 7th largest private company in Canada as of 2006, is based in Seattle
• Husky Energy, a majority stake in Husky Energy is owned by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka Shing and his holding company Hutchison Whampoa
• Labatt Brewing Company purchased by Belgian brewer Interbrew in 1995
• Hudsons Bay Company, Canada's largest retailer, and North America's oldest corporation (est. 1670), sold to U.S. investor Jerry Zucker in 2006.
• ING Bank of Canada, the largest foreign bank in Canada, formed by the purchase of several small Canadian companies, controlled by the Dutch ING Group
• Sears Canada, one the largest retailers (created by buying old Simpson's stores), controlled by the US Sears Holdings Corporation
• IBM Canada, owned by IBM
• Safeway Canada supermarkets, owned by Safeway Inc.
• Cargill Ltd. owned by Cargill of Minnesota
• McDonald's Canada, owned by McDonald's
• Pratt & Whitney Canada owned by US United Technologies Corporation
• Nissan Canada, owned by Nissan Motors of Japan
• Parmalat Canada owned by Parmalat of Italy

Branch plant economy is a term used to describe the phenomonon of United States companies building factories (branch plants) in Canada, primarily to sell products in the Canadian market. ... GM Canada Old Logo (used in the 1990s) General Motors of Canada Limited (GM Canada) is the name of General Motors Canadian division. ... This article is about the company. ... Wal-Mart Canada is the Canadian unit of Wal-Mart and was founded in 1994 in Mississauga, Ontario. ... Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ... Toyota Canada Incorporated is the Canadian unit of Toyota in Canada. ... Toyota Motor Corporation ), or Toyota is a Japanese multinational corporation and the worlds second largest[3] automaker making automobiles, trucks, buses, robots and providing financial services through Toyota Financial Services. ... Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited is the manufacturing and sales arm of Ford Motor Company for Canada. ... Ford may mean a number of things: A ford is a river crossing. ... Imperial Oil Limited TSX: IMO is Canadas largest petroleum company. ... Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), headquartered in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, USA, is the largest publicly traded integrated oil and gas company in the world, formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. ... DaimlerChrysler Canada is DaimlerChrysler AGs Canadian division. ... DaimlerChrysler AG (ISIN: DE0007100000) headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA and Japan is a prominent automobile and truck manufacturer and financial services provider (through DaimlerChrysler Financial Services). ... Shell Canada Limited (TSX: SHC) is one of Canadas largest integrated oil companies. ... Royal Dutch Shell PLC is a multinational oil company (oil major) of Anglo Dutch origin. ... BP Canada began operations in 1948 and for many years was in retail operations until Petro-Canada emerged in 1975. ... This article is about the corporation known as BP. See also BP (disambiguation) BP (formerly British Petroleum and briefly known as BP Amoco) (NYSE: BP) is a petroleum company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. ... Mitsui (三井) is one of the largest corporate conglomerates (Keiretsu) in Japan and one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world. ... Honda Canada Incorporated is the Canadian unit of Honda of Japan. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This business-related article is a stub. ... Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) is a Fortune 500 company based in San Antonio, Texas with approximately 22,000 employees and annual revenue of more than $80 billion. ... Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) is a membership warehouse club chain headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, United States, with its flagship warehouse #1 in nearby Seattle. ... External links Husky Energy Categories: Corporation stubs | Companies of Canada ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is 李 (Lǐ) Sir Li Ka Shing, GBM, KBE (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: , Jyutping: Lei5 Gaa1-sing4, Li2 Gia1-sêng5 gdr, born July 29, 1928), is one of the most famous businessmen in the world for his wealth and his business... Hutchison Whampoa Limited or HWL (Traditional Chinese: , SEHK: 0013) of Hong Kong is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. ... Labatt Brewing Company Ltd. ... Interbrew was a large Belgium-based brewing company which owned many internationally known beers, as well as some smaller local beers. ... The Hudsons Bay Company building in Montreal The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC) is the oldest corporation in Canada and is one of the oldest in the world still in existence. ... ING Direct Canada is the marketing name of ING Bank of Canada, a branchless bank in Canada founded in 1997. ... ING House, ING headquarters in Amsterdam ING Groep N.V. (NYSE: ING, Euronext: INGA) (known as ING Group) is a financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management services. ... Sears Canada Inc. ... The Robert Simpson Company, or Simpsons, was a Canadian department store chain, founded by Robert Simpson in 1872. ... Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) is the fourth largest retailer in the United States, behind Wal-Mart, The Home Depot, and Kroger [1]. It was formed in 2005 with the purchase of Sears, Roebuck, and Co. ... IBM Canadas head office is currently located in Markham 3600 Steeles East and has been there since the 1980s. ... International Business Machines Corporation (known as IBM or Big Blue; NYSE: IBM) is a multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, USA. The company is one of the few information technology companies with a continuous history dating back to the 19th century. ... Safeway Inc. ... Cargill Limited is one of Canadas largest international agricultural companies. ... Cargill, Incorporated is a privately held, multinational corporation, and is based in the state of Minnesota in the United States. ... McDonalds Canada or McDonalds Restaurants of Canada is the Canadian unit of McDonalds of Oak Brook, Illinois. ... McDonalds Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is the worlds largest chain of fast-food restaurants, primarily selling hamburgers, chicken, french fries, milkshakes and soft drinks. ... Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) is a Canadian aircraft engine manufacturer. ... United Technologies Corporation (UTC) (NYSE: UTX) is a multinational corporation based in Hartford, Connecticut, USA, and is the 20th largest U.S. manufacturer. ... Nissan Motor Co. ... Parmalat Canada is a company that sells dairy products. ... Parmalat logo. ...

Former major Canadian Companies acquired by foreign owners

See also: Category:Defunct companies of Canada

• MacMillan Bloedel, B.C. forestry giant acquired by Weyerhaeuser for US$2.45 billion in 1999
• JDS Fitel announces $8.9-billion merger with U-S.-based Uniphase to form JDS Uniphase, in 1999. Company headquarters move from Ottawa to San Jose.
• Eaton's, at one time Canada's largest retailer, with a history going back to 1869, purchased by Sears in 1999, and closed in 2000
• Seagram distillery and entertainment conglomerate, sold to Vivendi Universal and Pernod Ricard in 2000
• PetroKazakhstan a Calgary-based company exploring in Central Asia, was purchased by the Chinese state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation in 2005
• CP Ships Ltd., acquired by the parent company of Hapag-Lloyd Container Line, TUI AG, in an all-cash transaction worth $2.3 billion US in 2005
• Molson Brewries, one of the oldest companies in Canada merged with Coors, in 2005.
• Terasen Inc., previously BC Gas (a public utility company), sold to American-owned energy giant Kinder Morgan for $6.9 billion. The deal is approved by the B.C. Utilities Commission despite 8,000 letters of protest, 2005.
• Canadian Pacific hotels the owner of many of Canada's most historic hotel properties (operating under the name Fairmont Hotels and Resorts since 1999) is sold to Colony Capital, LLC of California and Kingdom Holding Company of Saudi Arabia for $3.9 billion, in January of 2006.
• Dofasco, Canada's largest steel maker acquired by Luxembourg-based Arcelor, January 2006.
• Noranda (mining company) & Falconbridge Ltd., purchased by Swiss mining company Xstrata in 2006. Noranda had earlier been a target of state-owned China Metals Corp., but had backed out in 2005 amid public concern in Canada of Chinese state control of such a major company.
• ATI Technologies, Canada's graphics chip maker, to be acquired by Advanced Micro Devices, July 2006.

MacMillan Bloedel Limited, sometimes referred to as MacBlo, was a huge forestry company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. ... JDS Uniphase Corporation (JDSU) NASDAQ: JDSU is a company that manufactures and designs products for fiber optic communication and test equipment. ... Eatons was once Canadas largest department store retailer. ... Sears Holdings Corporation NASDAQ: SHLD is the third largest retailer in the United States, behind Wal-Mart and The Home Depot. ... The Seagram Company Ltd. ... Vivendi Universal (VU) is a French conglomerate active in media and communications with activities in music, television and film, publishing, telecommunications and the Internet. ... Pernod Ricard is a French company producing alcoholic beverages. ... PetroKazakhstan is a Canadian oil company, based in Calgary, that has much of its business focused on Kazakhstan where it has some 550 million barrels of reserves in the Turgai basin region. ... This article lacks information on the importance of the subject matter. ... CP Ships is a large Anglo-Canadian shipping company. ... Hapag-Lloyd is a German transportation company comprising a cargo container shipping line and a cruise line. ... Molson Canada is Canadas oldest brewery. ... Coors may refer to: People Adolph Coors (1847-1929) started brewery Adolph Coors III grandson was kidnapped and murdered Pete Coors Things Adolph Coors Company of Golden, Colorado Coors Brewing Company Coors Field This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Terasen Inc (TSX: TER) is a 99% shareholder-owned energy company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. ... Kinder-Morgan Energy Partners LP is a company that through various companies owns and/or operates petroleum product, natural gas, and carbon dioxide pipelines, related storage facilities, terminals, and power plants in the United States. ... Banff Springs Hotel, October, 1929 The Canadian Pacific hotels are a series of hotels across Canada that were originally built by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). ... The Château Frontenac in Quebec City Canada’s railway hotels are a series of grand hotels across the country, each a local and national landmark, and most of which are icons of Canadian history and architecture. ... Banff Springs Hotel Quebec City - Château Frontenac Victoria - The Empress Chateau Lake Louise Ottawa - Château Laurier Toronto - Royal York Montreal - Queen Elizabeth Saint Andrews - The Algonquin Hotel Vancouver Calgary - Palliser Hotel Fairmont San Jose Hotel Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is a Toronto, Ontario based owner/operator of luxury hotels... Colony Capital, LLC is a private, international investment firm based in Los Angeles, California, California. ... Kingdom Holding Company (Arabic: المملكة القابضة) is a private holding company, incorporated in Saudi Arabia, and is the largest company in Saudi Arabia [1]. It is owned by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz, and is headquartered in the city of Riyadh. ... Dofasco is a steel company based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, which is also home to longtime Canadian rival Stelco. ... Arcelor S.A. (Euronext: LOR) is the worlds largest steel producer in terms of turnover and the second largest in terms of steel output, with a turnover of 30. ... Falconbridge Limited TSX: FAL NYSE: FAL is a Toronto, Ontario-based natural resources company with operations in 18 countries, involved in the exploration, mining, processing, and marketing of metal and mineral products, including nickel, copper, cobalt, and platinum. ... Xstrata plc is an international mining company. ... The current version of the article or section is written like a magazine article instead of the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia. ... AMD redirects here. ...

Other examples

• Bell Centre, owned by George N. Gillett Jr..
• Montréal Canadiens, owned by Club de hockey Canadien, Inc., owned by George N. Gillett Jr..
• Creo Inc., a world leader in digital printing software acquired by Eastman Kodak
• Zenon Environmental Inc., a successful and innovative technology company spawned in Hamilton -- sold to General Electric Co.
• Tim Hortons, sold to US Wendy's International in 1995, later to be sold to the public an IPO in 2005.
• CN Rail, the historic Canadian railway, now estimated to be 2/3 US owned. It should be noted that many US shareholders gained shares in CN when they received CN shares in exchange for their original shares in US railways like Illinois Central. Another interesting fact is that when CN planned to merge with US railway BNSF in 1999, it was the American government that stopped the project.
• Gulf Canada Resources, which had formerly been part of US-based Gulf Oil, but had since become independent, was purchased by US-based Conoco in a deal worth $6.7 billion in 2002.
• Moore Wallace sold to U.S.-based R.R. Donnelley and Sons for $4.9 billion.
• Masonite, bought out by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
• ID Biomedical, Canadian vaccine maker acquired by Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline for $1.8 billion.
• Vincor International Ltd., Canada's top wine maker and distributor, purchased for $1.4 billion by Constellation Brands Inc. of Fairport, NY, USA
• Bauer, Cooper, and Hespeler, historic hockey equipment manufacturers bought by Nike in 1994
• CCM (The Hockey Company), acquired by Reebok in 2004

Centre Bell, Montreal Centre Bell, Montreal The Bell Centre (French: Centre Bell), formerly known as the Molson Centre, has been the home of the Montreal Canadiens since March 16, 1996, when the team departed from the historic Montreal Forum after their last game on March 11 of the same year. ... George N. Gillett Jr. ... The Montréal Canadiens are the oldest established National Hockey League franchise. ... George N. Gillett Jr. ... This article is about the restaurant. ... Wendys International, Inc. ... An initial public offering (IPO) is the first sale of a corporations common shares to public investors. ... CN redirects here, as its the most common usage of the abbreviation in Canada; for more uses, see CN (disambiguation). ... Categories: Rail stubs | Defunct railroad companies of the United States | Defunct companies | Illinois railroads | Iowa railroads | Louisiana railroads | Missouri railroads | South Dakota railroads | Wisconsin railroads ... The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (AAR reporting mark BNSF) (NYSE: BNI), headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, and established as a result of a 1995 merger between the parent companies of the Burlington Northern Railroad and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, is one of the largest... Gulf Oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s. ... Categories: Companies traded on NYSE | Corporation stubs | Oil companies of the United States | Fortune 500 companies | Companies based in Texas ... Masonite is an a type of hardboard formed using the Mason method (invented by William H. Mason) by taking wooden chips and blasting them into long fibres using steam and then forming it into boards. ... Bauer is one of the leading manufacturers of hockey equipment, fitness and recreational skates. ... Look up Cooper in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Nike, Inc. ... CCM, formerly an initialism for Canada Cycle & Motor Co. ... Reebok International Limited is an English producer of athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories and is currently a subsidiary of Adidas AG. The name is the Afrikaans / Dutch spelling of the word rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle. ...

Quick facts

(Source - Statistics Canada)

2002 - Percentage of operating revenues of Canadian industries that were from foreign-controlled companies:

- Manufacturing - 51.8%, - Oil and gas - 49.9%, - Finance and insurance - 23.7%,

2004 - Foreign-controlled profits soared to a record $68 billion in 2004, up a staggering 21.7% from the previous year.

2004 - Foreign-controlled corporations accounted for 21.9% of assets held in Canada, and 30.0% of operating revenues yet comprised less than 1% (approx. 8,000) of the total 1.3 million corporations in Canada. Assets of foreign-controlled corporations rose 8.3% to $1.1 trillion in 2004, while those of Canadian-controlled corporations rose 8.9% to $3.9 trillion.

2004 - Foreign-controlled corporations operating revenues in Canada averaged $96 million, compared with less than $2 million for their Canadian-controlled counterparts.

Foreign Controlled Corporations:

Assets in Year 2000 - 833,970 Million

Assets in Year 2004 - 1,090,526 Million

August, 2006 (Source - ROBTV)

Foreign purchases so far in 2006 alone: 34 Canadian companies purchased by foreign interests worth 62 Billion dollars, nearly 4% of Canada's Market value

See also

• Canadian nationalism
• Continentalism
• Foreign Investment Review Agency

The Flag of Canada Canadian nationalism is a loose term which has been applied to ideologies of several different types which promote specifically Canadian interests over those of other countries, notably the United Kingdom and the United States. ... Continentalism refers to the policy and idea that a nation should not acquire territory outside of its continental limits. ... The Foreign Investment Review Agency was an agency of the government of Canada, created by the Liberal government of Pierre Trudeau in 1974. ...

External links

• The Canadian Encyclopedia
• CBC News - Mergers and Acquisitions
• Statistics Canada