Foreign control of Canadian companies moderates

Foreign control of Canadian corporations diminished over the 10 year period from 2007 to 2016 according to a new analysis.

A study by Statistics Canada shows that foreign control in the Canadian economy expanded in that period with a nominal increase in foreign-controlled assets to almost $2 trillion, but the share of foreign controlled assets diminished indicating that the growth in foreign controlled assets is overshadowed by those under Canadian control.

The share of foreign-controlled assets that were held by entities in the Americas and Europe declined while those held by entities in Asia increased.

Foreign control in 2016
Both Canadian (+6.1%) and foreign-controlled (+1.3%) asset values increased in 2016 with a lower share for foreign-controlled assets (down from 16.9% in 2015 to 16.2% in 2016), the ninth consecutive year where the share of assets under foreign control decreased.

Meanwhile, foreign-controlled revenue growth was up 1.8% and Canadian-controlled revenue growth increased 1.5%. The year-over-year share of revenues under foreign control in 2016 was unchanged at 27.8%.

Canadian-controlled operating profits gained 5.2% with an 8.2% rise for those under foreign control. The share of profits under foreign control in 2016 increased to 17.3%.

US-controlled enterprises still accounted for the lion’s share of foreign-controlled Canadian assets (52% assets, 55.4% revenues, 60.9% profits).

Other major holders of Canadian assets in 2016 included the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Japan.