View the most recent version.

Introduction

Each year, Statistics Canada produces statistics on foreign control as stipulated in the Corporations Returns Act. This document reports both current levels of foreign control as well as any emerging trends. Foreign control has traditionally been measured by the share of assets, operating revenue and operating profits generated by corporations operating in Canada that are controlled by non-resident or foreign interests.

Asset-based measures of foreign control provide a longer term perspective. Assets are a stock item, reflecting economic decisions and market conditions that evolve more slowly over time. Revenue-based measures, on the other hand, represent a flow item and are closely tied to the business cycle. Revenues tend to reflect current business conditions causing them to be more volatile than asset-based measures. Profits are a measure of the financial health and well-being of an economy and can be used to assess its performance and sustainability. All three measures are of interest and are included in this report.

This report is divided into four sections. The first section examines the extent to which foreign control has existed in the Canadian economy for the eighteen-year period ending in 2005. It also explores which countries are exercising the control using the most recent data available. Trends in foreign control for the non-financial industries and the finance and insurance industries are also presented in this section.

The next two sections investigate the state of foreign control at the industry level. The second section provides detail on the non-financial industries, while the third section covers the finance and insurance industries. All industry analysis is performed at the 21 NAICS-based industry levels.

The fourth section explores the relationship between foreign control and economic performance, where operating profits, profit margins and return on equity are used to measure economic performance.