Frank Stronach

Is Canada still a business-friendly country?

December 13, 2022

When it comes to doing business, Canada may not be as friendly as it once was. Thirty or forty years ago, whenever my company opened a new manufacturing facility or R&D centre in southern Ontario, municipalities would bend over backwards to help us — offering everything from widening the road to installing new traffic lights. In the U.S., job-hungry local and state governments would go even further, promising major tax incentives and free land if we chose to locate there. But the business-friendly environment that existed in Canada years ago has largely vanished. Instead, businesses looking to open a store or factory get slapped with piles of paperwork and never-ending fees. I’ve been trying to get a business operation up

Who’s looking out for our small businesses?

January 17, 2023

Many Canadians have bought some lumber or kitchen and bathroom accessories at Home Depot over the years. The company, which opened its first stores just outside of Atlanta, Georgia in 1978, has grown into what is today the world’s largest improvement retailer with approximately 2,300 stores throughout North America. A few weeks ago, one of the co-founders of Home Depot said that if he were to start his company all over again in today’s suffocating business environment, he doubts whether it could have ever grown any larger in size than around 15 stores. I’ve often wondered myself if I were to start Magna all over again today, instead of more than 50 years ago, would I have been able to

A new political movement to fix our ailing country

April 18, 2023

Whether in business, in society or in your own personal life, if something doesn’t function properly, you should know that you’ve got a problem. And if you don’t know that you’ve got a problem, then you’ve really got a problem. Problems are like cancer: they don’t go away by themselves and, if left untreated, they will grow. In Canada today, it seems as though we don’t know — or don’t want to know — what our problems are. Whether its our mushrooming national debt or the out-of-control growth in government bureaucracy or our slowly eroding living standards, we’re simply not tackling the major issues facing our country head-on. So who can Canadians turn to in order to restore fiscal discipline

Give young Canadians – and Canada – a break. Teach them trades

August 1, 2023

When most Canadians think of quality products made with a high level of technical skill and engineering, they usually think of Europe. And for good reason: European countries such as Switzerland, Germany, France, Sweden and Italy are all exporters of world-class products. These products include BMW and Siemens from Germany, Ferrari and Ducati from Italy, Cartier and Michelin from France, Kuehne + Nagel and Schindler from Switzerland, and Electrolux and Husqvarna from Sweden. These brands — as well as other quality products from Europe — are synonymous around the world with state-of-the-art engineering, technical precision and know-how, and reliability. It’s why the European Union has one of the strongest and most productive economies in the world and why European living

Small farmers need our support

June 27, 2023

Canada’s small family farmers do backbreaking work, day in and day out, from sunup to sundown, providing Canadians with the necessities of life. Yet despite how hard they work, and despite how vital their work is, they often don’t make very much in return. They plant, grow and harvest many of the fruits and vegetables we eat. And they often struggle to eke out a living based solely on the income they generate from their farm businesses. It’s not fair or right — and it’s a problem that’s been ignored by Canadian policymakers for far too long. I operate an organic restaurant and marketplace, and I’m constantly speaking and meeting family farmers from all over southern Ontario. Many of them

Schools have role to play in helping children grow strong and healthy

July 25, 2023

Most parents would surely agree that our nation’s number 1 priority should be the health of our children. But if the old saying that “you are what you eat” is true, then our kids are in a lot of trouble. Many children are eating unhealthy, non-organic foods at home, at school and at fast food restaurants. It’s one of the main reasons why we’ve seen an alarming rise in illnesses such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes in Canadian children. These illnesses drastically reduce the quality of life for a growing number of children and hinder their ability to learn. They also cost our health-care system millions of dollars each year. The universal hope and prayer of Canadian parents is