May 17, 2026

Welcome to Letters from CAMP, a newsletter on anti-monopoly activity in Canada and abroad, brought to you by the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project. In this instalment we have:

• Why Canada should use this summer’s CUSMA review to delete digital trade rules
• How private equities growing size threatens the stability of the Canadian economy
• California appointing anti-monopoly superstar Rohit Chopra to head new consumer agency

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Now let’s dive in.

Digital Trade is Not Fair Trade

As negotiators from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico gather this summer for the six-year review of CUSMA, many Canadians are understandably worried about the future of the agreement. The deal, particularly its rules on tariff-free trade in goods, has sheltered Canada from a degree of the trade turmoil that the U.S. has thrown the world. But while much of the headlines and policy discussion on CUSMA have focused on the movement of physical goods, buried in the agreement are important rules restricting the freedom of countries to operate in the digital realm.

In a new brief, CAMP lays out how CUSMA’s chapter on Digital Trade was turned into a Trojan Horse for Big Tech’s policy agenda, restricting the ability of all signatory countries, not just Canada, in reining in the excesses of digital giants. Articles on non-discrimination allow the largest companies on the planet to claim unfair treatment. Data and facilities localization rules limit the ability of countries to have a say over where their citizens data goes. The rules even attempt to import the U.S.’s blanket liability shield for content hosted on digital platforms. Whether you care about competition, online harms, or privacy, CUSMA’s digital trade rules represent a hurdle to tackling these important issues.

Though we may feel on the back foot, Canada should not discount the hand we have in this or any future CUSMA negotiations. While Canada-U.S. relations are strained, we should not forget that we have common cause here with American and Mexican citizens and policymakers who want to defend the public interest in the digital realm. Other great Canadian organizations like Open Media and the Canadian SHIELD Institute have championed Canada pushing back on Big Tech’s trade policy agenda. More than just holding on for dear life, all signatories of the deal should take this review as an opportunity to reclaim control of our digital lives.

📰 CAMP in the News 📰

• ​This Ontario man bought the same car as his wife and has a flawless driving record. Why is his insurance $649 more? (Toronto Star)
• ​Ottawa must boost wireless competition (Globe and Mail)

The Private Equity Bomb Under Canada’s Economy

There’s been a long overdue conversation about foreign direct investment happening in Canada. Foreign direct investment numbers are breathlessly reported as a signal of whether Canada is attractive for global capital, completely ignoring what that capital is being used for. Instead of the idyllic view of capital from abroad building up Canada’s productive capacity, the reality is that a third of these flows have been going to the takeover and consolidation of Canadian businesses. In that same period, the role of foreign private equity firms in this acquisitive behaviour has grown dramatically.

Setting aside real concerns about Canada’s control of vital assets and productivity, this week Canada received a reality check that this global private equity cash is also making our economy vulnerable to negative shocks. In a new brief, ratings agency Moody’s shows that the growing prominence of private equity ownership is driving up the credit risk for speculative grade companies, whose debt is labeled with the unfortunate moniker of ‘junk bonds.’ In English, private equity is making these companies an even riskier bet, more vulnerable to future negative economic shocks.

Why is this the case? In 2024, CAMP fellow Rachel Wasserman warned that the growing role of buyout private equity was hollowing out rather than building up Canadian businesses. By funding acquisitions through debt foisted onto the acquired company, engaging in leasebacks that burden companies with renting assets they previously owned, and forcing companies to issue dividends they can’t afford, private equity ownership makes companies more brittle and less able to adapt. We like being ahead of the curve, but this is one area where we’d prefer to be wrong rather than prescient. Moody’s warning makes it clear: without reining in these extractive practices, Canada’s economy will be less able to weather the next wave of economic turmoil.

📚 What We’re Reading 📚

• Bednar, McLeod, Corbett, Osborne, Tiessen and da Mota, The Weaponization of Governance (Canadian Shield Institute)
• Scherer, No Bailouts for Big Tech Billionaires: Policies for when the AI bubble bursts (Open Markets Institute)
• Levine, The Surveillance Economy Is Here. This Is How We Fight Back. (Jacobin)

California Gets Serious on Consumer Protection

U.S. states like California and New York are stepping up to the plate for consumers, passing new laws and beefing up their regulators to oppose corporate power. They’re going after surveillance pricing, junk fees, and even Ticketmaster. While the federal government retreats, states in the U.S. are picking up the slack from the moribund FTC and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), dismantled by an administration whose love of deals is putting the interests of consumers dead last.

This trend continued this week with California Governor Gavin Newsom announcing the appointment of Rohit Chopra, previous head of the CFPB and longtime anti-monopoly champion, to helm the state’s new consumer protection agency. He’s taken on everyone from banks to Big Tech and worked tireless as both a regulator and consumer advocate. The clearest signal he was effective challenge to corporate power in his role as head of the CFPB? He was fired immediately when the Trump Administration rolled into town.

Canada has a lot to learn from the actions taken by the states down south. While the federal government owns the competition file, the provinces have a wide range of powers related to consumer protection and unfair business practices. While thankfully Canada is not experiencing the same federal retreat from competition, there’s still an important role for provinces to play in creating fair markets in Canada. As Canadians continue to struggle with the consequences of the monopolies around us, our provincial governments should be looking south for inspiration.

If you have any monopoly tips or stories you’d like to share, drop us a line at hello@antimonopoly.ca

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