Watchdog urges Canada to open airline sector to more foreign capital
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Canada should loosen investment rules for airlines to allow full foreign ownership of carriers that fly only within the domestic market, according to the country's competition watchdog.
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The recommendation is one of several released Thursday by the Competition Bureau following a nearly yearlong study. It also suggests raising the ownership limit for Canadian airlines so that a single foreign investor can own as much as 49%, up from the current 25%, and prioritizing competition in merger reviews.
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'Recent market entrants have said that foreign investment is critical for them to launch and continue flying,' the bureau said, pointing to Australia as an example of a country where such capital has led to more competition.
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Canada's airline industry is concentrated, with Air Canada and WestJet accounting for between 56% to 78% of domestic passenger traffic at the eight busiest airports, the study said. Their dominant position is sometimes a source of frustration for consumers in a massive country where the distances between cities are vast and there's no high-speed rail service.
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But the expansion of Porter Airlines and Flair Airlines caused market concentration to drop between 2019 and 2023, the bureau found.
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'Our research shows that when just one new competitor flies on a route between two cities, airfares go down by 9% on average,' it said.
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Low-cost entrants have a mixed record, and many that have launched failed quickly. Lynx Air ceased operations in February 2024, saying it had been 'devastated' by low passenger volumes and rising fuel costs.
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Canada, like many countries, doesn't allow foreign-owned airlines to fly domestic routes.
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Price competition in the Canadian airline sector lessened after the pandemic, the bureau found. In launching its study in 2024, the bureau pointed out that congestion, flight delays, cancellations, baggage issues and complaints have picked up in recent years.
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'Competition in the Canadian air transport industry is robust, and comparable or greater than other countries around the world, to the benefit of Canadians,' Air Canada, the country's largest airline, said in a submission to the Competition Bureau. The company argued that the increase in airfares is mainly due to third-party fees, supply-chain challenges, inflation, rising fuel prices and labor shortages.
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In 2021, Air Canada dropped its planned acquisition of Quebec-based Transat AT Inc. because it couldn't convince European regulators to approve the deal on acceptable terms.
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Canada News.Net
an hour ago
- Canada News.Net
Hainan free trade port moves to forefront of China's opening-up drive
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Canada Standard
10 hours ago
- Canada Standard
Hainan free trade port moves to forefront of China's opening-up drive
HAIKOU, June 21 (Xinhua) -- For Canadian visitor Stephanie Wing See Yau, the therapy experience at a care center in Bo'ao, a coastal city in China's southernmost island province of Hainan, felt more like "a vacation." "This place is top-notch. They cater to so many aspects of wellness, not just physical, but mental too," she told Xinhua during her stay in the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, which hosts over 30 top-tier domestic and international medical institutions. Thanks to special policy support, the pilot zone has introduced 485 cutting-edge medicines and medical devices that are licensed abroad but not yet available in the domestic market. The policy has benefited more than 130,000 patients, including individuals like Yau. Her four-day experience -- blending advanced health screenings, traditional therapies, tea ceremonies, and cultural immersion -- offers much more than just a chance to relax. It showcases a tangible outcome of a key move in China's opening-up strategy: the transformation of Hainan into a Free Trade Port (FTP). As the Hainan FTP is set to begin independent customs operations by the end of the year, it is poised to become not only a tourist haven but also a pivotal gateway for China's opening-up drive. FRONTIER FOR FREE-FLOWING FACTORS A central component of this transformation is the Lecheng medical tourism pilot zone. A total of 25 medical tourism routes have been rolled out to cater to a wide range of needs, including traditional Chinese medicine, chronic disease care, luxury diagnostics and cosmetic rehab, garnering popularity among visitors from countries such as Indonesia, Russia, Spain, and beyond. In 2024, the medical special zone attracted over 410,000 medical visitors, up 36.76 percent year on year. Lecheng is only one part of Hainan's wider push for opening up. 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The start of independent customs operations will represent a concrete step toward building a major gateway for China's high-level opening-up, Chi said. INSTITUTIONAL OPENING-UP LURING FOREIGN CAPITAL As Hainan FTP has prioritized institutional integration and coordination across trade, finance and regulatory systems, experts believe this will create a powerful driving force for the development of the FTP and contribute to China's high-standard opening up strategy. Official data showed that so far, the province has rolled out a total of 158 institutional innovation cases. These reform measures include technology-empowered public tendering, one-stop business licensing, and a specialized IP zone to support the seed industry. Hainan FTP serves not only as a testing ground for free-flowing goods, services and data, but as a frontier for the innovation of regulations and mechanisms, said Zhou Xiaochuan, vice chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA). With its optimized business environment, Hainan has emerged as a premier foreign investment destination, ranking among China's top performers. In 2024, the number of foreign-invested enterprises in Hainan rose 19.2 percent year on year, while its foreign direct investment volume climbed to the tenth spot nationally. To date, Hainan has attracted investment from 158 countries and regions, while its economic openness ratio -- the ratio of total trade to GDP -- more than doubled from 17.3 percent in 2018 to 35 percent in 2024. High-profile events held in the province like the BFA, a premier platform advocating openness and multilateral cooperation, and the China International Consumer Products Expo, the largest consumer expo in the Asia-Pacific region, offer global investors dynamic gateways to observe the country's evolving openness agenda. DFS, the travel retail company of the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, in 2024 sealed its largest single investment in 60 years to launch a landmark complex in Yalong Bay of Sanya, the well-known tropical resort city in Hainan. The project will merge luxury retail, hotels and entertainment, with the goal of building a top destination for luxury shopping and tourism. "Hainan FTP embodies China's commitment to high-standard openness," said Nancy Liu, president of DFS China. China's special economic zones, like Hainan FTP and the 21 pilot free trade zones, serve as pivotal engines for industrial transformation and opening up, Chi noted, highlighting their role as "growth accelerators for both regional and global economies." When the independent customs operations begin, Hainan FTP will create key opportunities for international enterprises to access China's domestic market more efficiently, and play a greater role in enhancing market connectivity with global markets through service trade-focused regulatory alignment, he added.
Toronto Sun
11 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
Canadian Centre for Cyber Security says network devices compromised in China-linked hack
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