Foreign Control of Canada's Merchandise Exports, 2002 - ARCHIVED

Foreign control of a country's economic assets is of great interest to industry and policy makers alike. In 2002, foreign controlled exporting establishments operating in Canada represented about 10% of the total number of exporting establishments on Statistics Canada's Exporter Register. Total exports by those (foreign controlled) establishments in 2002 was in the amount of $155 billion - about half of the total exports in that year. It is contended that the lowering of barriers to trade with the U.S. has made it easier, not only for Canadian exporters to do business and invest in the U.S., but also for foreign enterprises to establish a physical presence in Canada in order to gain better access to the lucrative North American market. The paper examines to what extent the above contention is valid. The paper also examines the differences between industries, variation between countries, the diversity of export destinations and foreign control by province.