Business
Corporate head offices are fleeing Canada

From the Fraser Institute
Canada is losing corporate head offices. Between 2012 and 2022, one-in-20 head offices closed or merged with other companies, according to Statistics Canada data, which track the number of large and mid-sized Canadian-based companies over time. Head office employment has also dwindled, dropping by around 6 per cent since 2012.
While Canadian corporate headquarters are concentrated in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia, almost all provinces have lost head offices since 2012. In some cases, this can be attributed to energy companies exiting, merging or scaling back their operations in Canada following the plunge in oil prices from 2014 to 2016 and the emergence of an investment-chilling federal regulatory environment. That said, the decline in corporate headquarters and related employment has been broadly-based.
Why should Canadians care?
Head offices serve as “command and control centres” for key decisions about people, products, processes, technologies and strategies for growth. They create local demand for services such as accounting, law, engineering, management consulting, finance and advertising. People who work in these supplier industries, like those employed directly by companies’ headquarters, also earn above-average wages and salaries. A robust head office sector bolsters the tax base to help pay for public services. It also has a positive impact on the extent of private-sector support for education, health care, and arts and charities.
What can be done? Canada has little prospect of “poaching” head offices from elsewhere. Indeed, there is a risk that some Canadian companies in sectors such as energy, forestry, technology, and pipelines could relocate their headquarters to the United States. Instead, policymakers should ensure that Canada has a business environment that helps retain head offices and creates opportunities for more local firms to scale into larger enterprises.
Unfortunately, Canada is hamstrung by a poor policy environment for business growth, including an antiquated tax system that defies understanding even by the most skilled tax accountants, complex and inefficient regulatory processes affecting many industries, internal trade barriers that fragment the domestic market, heavy direct government involvement in multiple sectors of the economy, and a federal government that seemingly lacks interest in doing much to improve the efficiency and productivity of the national economy.
For example, the combined federal-provincial business tax rate doubles or triples if companies grow their net income above a modest level (typically, $500,000). Provincial payroll taxes kick in at thresholds that encourage “micro-businesses” and impose higher tax burdens on mid-sized companies. Research and development tax credits are skewed to benefit very small businesses. Canada also levies high personal tax rates at relatively low income thresholds compared to most other advanced economies, including the U.S. and the United Kingdom. The most skilled employees—managers, professionals, scientists, technologists and so on—are internationally mobile. Many can and will leave Canada for better opportunities in other jurisdictions.
In truth, Canada today is not a particularly attractive location to situate head office jobs, nor to undertake the kind of high-value corporate activities that depend on the presence of senior management and deep pools of professional and technical talent.
Canada cannot afford to see the continued loss of head offices. Governments at all levels should enact policies to support a strong head office sector. And they should avoid taking steps that will spur a further exodus of successful Canadian companies and our most talented people.
Author:
2025 Federal Election
As PM Poilievre would cancel summer holidays for MP’s so Ottawa can finally get back to work

From Conservative Party Communications
In the first 100 days, a new Conservative government will pass 3 laws:
1. Affordability For a Change Act—cutting spending, income tax, sales tax off homes
2. Safety For a Change Act to lock up criminals
3. Bring Home Jobs Act—that repeals C-69, sets up 6 month permit turnarounds for new projects
No summer holiday til they pass!
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced today that as Prime Minister he will cancel the summer holiday for Ottawa politicians and introduce three pieces of legislation to make life affordable, stop crime, and unleash our economy to bring back powerful paycheques. Because change can’t wait.
A new Conservative government will kickstart the plan to undo the damage of the Lost Liberal Decade and restore the promise of Canada with a comprehensive legislative agenda to reverse the worst Trudeau laws and cut the cost of living, crack down on crime, and unleash the Canadian economy with ‘100 Days of Change.’ Parliament will not rise until all three bills are law and Canadians get the change they voted for.
“After three Liberal terms, Canadians want change now,” said Poilievre. “My plan for ‘100 Days of Change’ will deliver that change. A new Conservative government will immediately get to work, and we will not stop until we have delivered lower costs, safer streets, and bigger paycheques.”
The ’100 Days of Change’ will include three pieces of legislation:
The Affordability–For a Change Act
Will lower food prices, build more homes, and bring back affordability for Canadians by:
- Cutting income taxes by 15%. The average worker will keep an extra $900 each year, while dual-income families will keep $1,800 more annually.
- Axing the federal sales tax on new homes up to $1.3 million. Combined with a plan to incentivize cities to lower development charges, this will save homebuyers $100,000 on new homes.
- Axing the federal sales tax on new Canadian cars to protect auto workers’ jobs and save Canadians money, and challenge provinces to do the same.
- Axing the carbon tax in full. Repeal the entire carbon tax law, including the federal industrial carbon tax backstop, to restore our industrial base and take back control of our economy from the Americans.
- Scrapping Liberal fuel regulations and electricity taxes to lower the cost of heating, gas, and fuel.
- Letting working seniors earn up to $34,000 tax-free.
- Axing the escalator tax on alcohol and reset the excise duty rates to those in effect before the escalator was passed.
- Scrapping the plastics ban and ending the planned food packaging tax on fresh produce that will drive up grocery costs by up to 30%.
We will also:
- Identify 15% of federal buildings and lands to sell for housing in Canadian cities.
The Safe Streets–For a Change Act
Will end the Liberal violent crime wave by:
- Repealing all the Liberal laws that caused the violent crime wave, including catch-and-release Bill C-75, which lets rampant criminals go free within hours of their arrest.
- Introducing a “three strikes, you’re out” rule. After three serious offences, offenders will face mandatory minimum 10-year prison sentences with no bail, parole, house arrest, or probation.
- Imposing life sentences for fentanyl trafficking, illegal gun trafficking, and human trafficking. For too long, radical Liberals have let crime spiral out of control—Canada will no longer be a haven for criminals.
- Stopping auto theft, extortion, fraud, and arson with new minimum penalties, no house arrest, and a new more serious offence for organized theft.
- Give police the power to end tent cities.
- Bringing in tougher penalties and a new law to crack down on Intimate Partner Violence.
- Restoring consecutive sentences for multiple murderers, so the worst mass murderers are never let back on our streets.
The Bring Home Jobs–For a Change Act
This Act will be rocket fuel for our economy. We will unleash Canada’s vast resource wealth, bring back investment, and create powerful paycheques for workers so we can stand on our own feet and stand up to Trump from a position of strength, by:
- Repealing the Liberal ‘No Development Law’, C-69 and Bill C-48, lifting the cap on Canadian energy to get major projects built, unlock our resources, and start selling Canadian energy to the world again.
- Bringing in the Canada First Reinvestment Tax Cut to reward Canadians who reinvest their earnings back into our country, unlocking billions for home building, manufacturing, and tools, training and technology to boost productivity for Canadian workers.
- Creating a One-Stop-Shop to safely and rapidly approve resource projects, with one simple application and one environmental review within one year.
Poilievre will also:
- Call President Trump to end the damaging and unjustified tariffs and accelerate negotiations to replace CUSMA with a new deal on trade and security. We need certainty—not chaos, but Conservatives will never compromise on our sovereignty and security.
- Get Phase 2 of LNG Canada built to double the project’s natural gas production.
- Accelerate at least nine other projects currently snarled in Liberal red tape to get workers working and Canada building again.
“After the Lost Liberal Decade of rising costs and crime and a falling economy under America’s thumb, we cannot afford a fourth Liberal term,” said Poilievre. “We need real change, and that is what Conservatives will bring in the first 100 days of a new government. A new Conservative government will get to work on Day 1 and we won’t stop until we have delivered the change we promised, the change Canadians deserve, the change Canadians voted for.”
Automotive
Canadians’ Interest in Buying an EV Falls for Third Year in a Row

From Energy Now
Electric vehicle prices fell 7.8 per cent in the last quarter of 2024 year-over-year, according to the AutoTader price index
Fewer Canadians are considering buying an electric vehicle, marking the third year in a row interest has dropped despite lower EV prices, a survey from AutoTrader shows.
Forty-two per cent of survey respondents say they’re considering an EV as their next vehicle, down from 46 per cent last year. In 2022, 68 per cent said they would consider buying an EV.
Meanwhile, 29 per cent of respondents say they would exclusively consider buying an EV — a significant drop from 40 per cent last year.
The report, which surveyed 1,801 people on the AutoTrader website, shows drivers are concerned about reduced government incentives, a lack of infrastructure and long-term costs despite falling prices.
Electric vehicle prices fell 7.8 per cent in the last quarter of 2024 year-over-year, according to the AutoTader price index.
The survey, conducted between Feb. 13 and March 12, shows 68 per cent of non-EV owners say government incentives could influence their decision, while a little over half say incentives increase their confidence in buying an EV.
-
Business2 days ago
Chinese firm unveils palm-based biometric ID payments, sparking fresh privacy concerns
-
2025 Federal Election2 days ago
Conservatives promise to ban firing of Canadian federal workers based on COVID jab status
-
Business1 day ago
Is Government Inflation Reporting Accurate?
-
2025 Federal Election1 day ago
Carney’s Hidden Climate Finance Agenda
-
Environment2 days ago
Experiments to dim sunlight will soon be approved by UK government: report
-
2025 Federal Election1 day ago
Study links B.C.’s drug policies to more overdoses, but researchers urge caution
-
2025 Federal Election2 days ago
Former WEF insider accuses Mark Carney of using fear tactics to usher globalism into Canada
-
Censorship Industrial Complex2 days ago
Is free speech over in the UK? Government censorship reaches frightening new levels