INDUSTRY IN CANADA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21224, 2 July 1932, Page 11

INDUSTRY IN CANADA.

OUTSIDE INVESTMENTS.

"AMOUNT NOT DOMINANT."

WHERE CAPITAL IS APPLIED. The influence of outside capital in Canadian industry is mentioned in the publication Industrial Canada, which states that the amount of publicity given to the establishment of industries by such capital might cause tho impression that Canadian industry was in danger of outside domination.

It was true that a largo amount of British and foreign capital was invested in Canada. Tho country could not have developed so rapidly had that not been tho case, but, at the present time, tho amount of outside capital invested in Canada was not a dominant or a very important factor in controlling the enterprises of tho Dominion.

Tho connections of Canadian companies with firms in other countries included a variety of relationships. Most companies which established plants in Canada incorporated Canadian companies with Dominion or provincial charters. A few established factories without incorporating and took out Jicences to do business in tho country. Many made arrangements with a Canadian company to manufacture their products, and incorporated a subsidiary concern, owned by themselves jointly with the Canadian firm. Some companies wholly owned in Canada had patent and trademark rights of foreign companies, to which royalties or other forms of consideration were paid. While it was impossible to obtain exact figures of the investment of outside capital in Canada, the estimate of tho Dominion Bureau of Statistics gavo a reasonably accurate summary of the situation. The bureau estimated that, at January 1, 1930, the total of British and foreign investments in Canada was £1,531,489,750. Of this sum, £293.167,500 was in Dominion. provincial and municipal securities, £418,716,250 in railways, £132,057,500 in other public utilities, £130,062,000 in tho wood pulp, lumber and paper industries, £70,400,000 in mining, £136,728,750 in metal industries, £123,094,000 in all other industries, £62.500.000 in merchandising establishments, £52.255,500 in finance and insurance, and £84,508,250 in land and mortgage.

It was estimated by the bureau that the total business capital employed in Canada amounted to £4.375.000,000". Of this sum, it was considered that 65 per cent, was owned in Canada, 21 per cent, in the United States, 13 per cent, in Great Britain, and 1 per cent, in other countries. Were the national wealth of Canada, about £7,500,000,000, taken as a base, British and foreign gross investments would represent only slightly more than 20' per cent." of the amount. Another factor was that Canadians had investments abroad to an estimated total of £445,336,250.

Canada had been glad to welcome industries established by outside capital. The return which they made to their parent companies was usually infinitely small, compared with what was spent in Canada for wages and materials.