Hollowing Out? Canadian capitalism in comparative context

A recurring theme of Canadian political economy has been the dependence of Canada's capitalist class. In the 1960s and 1970s the focus of the discussion was on foreign ownership and foreign direct investment – both seen as indicators of an unusual degree of dependence. In recent years, the debate has taken a new form, with a focus on the purchase of long– standing corporate symbols of Canadian capitalism by non–Canadian capitalists. The Canadian economy is being "hollowed out," the argument goes, with dangerous consequences for sovereignty and for social and economic development. This paper will examine both the empirical and theoretical underpinnings of this argument. It will argue that empirically, the hollowing–out thesis is impossible to sustain. Both in terms of number of acquisitions and value of acquisitions, Canadian corporations are more visible as acquirers of foreign holdings, than as sellers. Theoretically, the paper will challenge the notion that the term ―comprador‖ can be applied to Canada's capitalist class. This is an idea that was current in the 1970‘s political economy debates, and has returned as a recurring theme in contemporary analyses of Canadian capitalism. The term comprador is best reserved for use with the really dependent economies of sections of the Global South. Canada‘s capitalist class is increasingly displaying all the signs of an independent class – economically, politically and militarily – in an alliance with the U.S., but as a ―relatively autonomous‖ actor in its own right.