(Ottawa) The Federal Competition Bureau says that corporate profits and profit margins have increased over the past two decades in Canada, while competition has decreased.
The office published on Thursday an analysis of the evolution of competition between sectors in Canada between 2000 and 2020.
The report finds that concentration has increased in the already most concentrated industries, and that the number of “highly concentrated” industries has also increased.
Large companies face less competition from smaller competitors, and fewer new companies are carving out a place in these increasingly concentrated markets, notes the federal agency.
The Competition Bureau also found that profits and profit margins have both increased overall over the past 20 years. Additionally, these increases were generally larger for companies that already had higher profits and margins.
According to Commissioner Matthew Boswell, the report once again highlights the need to modernize Canada’s competition laws “and adopt a whole-of-government approach to promoting competition.”
