Canada is in the clutches of a deepening monopoly crisis. In 2019, three telecom giants held a staggering 91% grip on the mobile and internet services market. Meanwhile, in the financial sector, six banks controlled 80% of total assets, and the grocery scene was similarly dominated by five powerful chains, claiming 80% of all grocery sales in the country.3,4,5
This isn't just about numbers; it's about the pulse of our economy, and right now, that pulse is weakening. A monopolized economy is like a giant chessboard where one player holds all the pieces, deciding the rules and outcomes, while other players are left without a move. This means the few big companies at the top aren’t fighting each other hard for your business; they’re figuring out how hard they can squeeze customers like you. The sector and goods differ, but the results are the same – making things more expensive for us and limiting our choices, be it for the basics like groceries, or equally essential telecom connectivity.
And that’s just for individual Canadians – small businesses suffer too! The few corporate behemoths at the top wield their market dominance like a sledgehammer, crushing any semblance of competition and stifling innovation, ensuring that new ideas struggle to breathe and small enterprises are unjustly strangled at birth. To make matters worse, their influence extends beyond the marketplace; they manipulate our politicians and regulations, erecting barriers that shield their unfair practices from due scrutiny and real fixes.
That could all change if we speak up NOW. A strong version of Bill C-56 could be more than just legislation; it could be a lifeline — an opportunity to reshape Canada into a place where affordability is not a lofty ideal, but a concrete reality. Done right, it’s a promise to dismantle the uneven playing field, to restore fairness and affordability, and to break free from the suffocating shackles of monopolies that have held Canada captive for far too long
Your pressure and attention to this issue to date has forced the government to start to act; first with proposing C-56, and now with a new round of proposed amendments that could GREATLY enhance its anti-monopoly impact if we can get them passed.6 But make no mistake; Canada’s monopolies are powerful players with legions of lawyers and lobbyists acting every day, and if our MPs don’t hear from enough ordinary Canadians that this issue matters, they’ll lose their nerve and start to cave in and weaken this critical Bill. This is a crucial moment of reckoning for the powerful in our country, a golden opportunity that we can’t afford to fumble. It's time for our laws to champion everyday Canadians, not power-hungry corporate giants; to build a Canada that serves the many, not the mighty. Let's not squander this chance.