Manitoba's Strategic Advantages: Business Development
Sectoral Limitations on Foreign Ownership of Canadian Businesses
Various federal and provincial statutes place additional restrictions on foreign ownership in specific industries.
- Under the federal Bank Act no person may own and control more than 10% of the shares of a bank listed in Schedule 1. A similar rule applies to federally incorporated trust companies and loan companies under The Trust and Loan Companies Act (Canada).
- The federal Broadcasting Act provides that broadcasting licences may not be issued to non-Canadians or to companies that are effectively owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by non-Canadians.
- The federal Telecommunications Act restricts foreign ownership and control to 20% of the voting shares of a telecommunications common carrier.
- Under the Insurance Companies Act, no person may own and control more than 10% of the shares of a Canadian-owned life insurance company; provincial legislation also places restrictions on foreign investment in the insurance industry.
- Other industries where foreign investment is currently affected by federal or provincial regulation include oil and gas, farming, book publishing and selling, aviation, fisheries, liquor sales, mining, collection agencies, engineering, optometry, pharmacies, and securities dealers.
