Frank Stronach

Narrowing the gap between rich and poor

July 18, 2023

In its latest report on the wealth of Canadian households, Statistics Canada found that the gap between the country’s wealthiest and poorest citizens is widening at a record pace. The report also found that most of the country’s wealth is held by relatively few individuals. According to the study, the wealthiest 20 per cent of Canadians account for nearly 68 per cent of the country’s net worth, while the bottom 40 per cent account for just three per cent. Those with the lowest incomes have been hardest hit by soaring inflation and stagnant wages, according to the study. Middle-class Canadians, meanwhile, spent an average of $1,306 more than they earned in income in the first quarter of this year. To

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

To support small businesses, exempt them from corporate income tax

September 6, 2023

In today’s highly competitive global economy, countries fight tooth and nail for corporate investments, promising everything from tax breaks to subsidies. Why? Because these investments bring jobs, and jobs have become one of the world’s most precious commodities. Article contentCanada’s unemployment rate rose to 5.5 per cent in July, according to Statistics Canada — the highest it’s been since February 2022. That’s more than one million people looking for work. When I was CEO of Magna, whenever we opened factories in small towns across Southern Ontario, it usually meant hundreds of new jobs and a big boost to the local economy. But most jobs in Canada don’t come from big corporations — they come from small businesses. According to statistics

Fixing capitalism by mandating profit sharing

April 11, 2023

One of my favourite books published over the last few years is “Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few,” by Robert Reich, a public policy professor at UC Berkeley and secretary of labour in the Clinton administration. Reich’s main argument is that capitalism is damaged and that the rich are getting richer while the poor and middle class are getting poorer, creating the greatest income inequality and wealth disparity in nearly a century. He’s right that capitalism is a system that enriches only a few. I also agree with Reich’s call for a revival of corporate profit sharing, which was much more widespread in the 20th century, when some of America’s biggest and most well-known companies had profit-sharing programs.

Socialism is not the solution to inequality

January 10, 2023

Most of us seek balance in all aspects of our lives. But that same ongoing quest to attain balance should also guide the functioning of our society, our government and our economy. And right now, Canada is unbalanced in many areas that shape the quality of our lives. Take wealth, for example. According to a report from the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, in 2019, the top one per cent of Canadians held 25 per cent of the country’s net wealth, while the bottom 40 per cent of Canadian families barely owned more than one per cent. The report also found that the household wealth gap — the difference in the share of net wealth owned by households at

Big business does best when workers get their share

October 10, 2023

I’ve been arguing in this column for a while now that large Canadian companies should have to share their annual profits with employees — and that it should be a cornerstone component of a new national economic charter of rights. Some businesspeople have said to me the last thing they want is the government telling them that they have to give up some of the company’s hard-earned profits. I can understand why they feel that way. When I was the CEO of Magna International, we introduced a profit sharing program with my managers, employees and investors that gave each stakeholder group a pre-determined percentage of our annual profits. After introducing the program, profits skyrocketed. My only regrets are that I