# How did Canada become a country of monopolies? It started as one.

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/cancon-7243791/how-did-canada-become-a-country-of-monopolies-it-started-as-one
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/cancon-7243791/how-did-canada-become-a-country-of-monopolies-it-started-as-one.md
Podcast: [CanCon](https://stenobird.com/podcast/cancon-7243791)
Published: 2026-02-26T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://elbows-up.simplecast.com/episodes/how-did-canada-become-a-country-of-monopolies-it-started-as-one-kuBEKcX8
Audio file: https://cdn.simplecast.com/media/audio/transcoded/651f3112-796a-485e-b005-e50532570169/13039807-2ea8-4138-bba4-ff99d4da8b96/episodes/audio/group/805e3d0c-31b3-4b6a-8fd2-e2ae46a926a2/group-item/ff2a2dfd-fbf8-4e48-b220-de3f5cb084a3/128_default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=5KDCoHqs
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Duration seconds: 1249

## Resource

You know the joke about Canada being three (insert sector here) companies in a trench coat? Well, it's kind of always been that way. When Canadians complain about the lack of choices for consumers in so many industries, they're continuing a long tradition that began with the founding of our nation. Ever since the Hudson's Bay company was handed control of the fur trade and our railroad was built by Canadian Pacific we've had it in our DNA. But now, when global competition is supposed to define the landscape, little has changed. Why is that? And why has our government been so unsuccessful in stopping it? This week, Jordan is joined by Peter Nowak, host of Do Not Pass Go, a podcast dedicated to exploring monopolies across Canadian sectors to unpack why, exactly, a nation that recently claimed to be beefing up the powers of its competition bureau struggles to offer its citizens real choices in their everyday lives.

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## Transcript

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