Social Capital Partners

Maintaining Canadian sovereignty is going to require keeping Canadian companies in Canadian hands. I'm excited about this set of ideas by Scott Stirrett, Karen Greve Young and Michelle Arnold to help Canadian entrepreneurs buy Canadian businesses. Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (ETA) was the start of my successful entrepreneurial journey (after some unsuccessful journeys) and can have great outcomes. But it's awfully hard to get the financing necessary to do it. There are better models in the US, and the suggestions in this article lay out what a Canadian version of that would look like. The good news it it builds off other programs that already exist in Canada - very little additional bureaucracy would be needed to make it work. Helping to finance Canadians in buying community businesses may be one of the biggest public policy "no-brainers" out there, especially given the current challenges to our sovereignty. The authors estimate that it could lead to 5,000 businesses a year going to mostly young Canadian entrepreneurs. That's an extraordinary outcome that very few policies can deliver. I hope politicians are paying attention to good, practical, proven ideas like this as they come up - we're going to need every one of them! Check it out, and let your local candidate know that we need this in Canada ASAP. https://lnkd.in/grTY-Kcr

A silver tsunami of business exits is coming. In the next decade, over 300,000 Canadian small business owners are expected to retire. These businesses aren’t just storefronts or factories—they’re the backbone of local economies, employing millions and anchoring communities from coast to coast. But as these owners look to transition out, too many businesses risk being sold to foreign buyers or extractive private equity—or closing their doors entirely. One of the biggest barriers? A lack of accessible financing for the next generation of Canadian owners. In a piece I co-authored with Karen Greve Young and Michelle Arnold, we make the case for a bold policy solution: a national loan guarantee program that unlocks capital for entrepreneurs to buy and grow local businesses. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to strengthen economic resilience and keep wealth rooted in communities across Canada. Let’s not waste it.

What if Canada could help aspiring entrepreneurs buy existing businesses - keeping jobs and ownership local while injecting fresh energy into our Canadian economy? Sounds pretty great right about now. Data show that fewer people are starting businesses, weakening our economy at a time when we need strong domestic ownership to withstand global economic uncertainty. The combo of rising U.S. tariffs, a weakening Canadian dollar and a generation of business owners nearing retirement threatens to cause a 🌩️perfect storm of foreign takeovers. SCP's Michelle Arnold, Futurpreneur's Karen Greve Young and Venture for Canada's Scott Stirrett on how the federal government can ensure Canada's small businesses not only survive the "silver tsunami" and Trump's tirade of threats, but thrive and grow. 🔗 Find the op-ed in the comments below. #AlwaysCanada #Never51 #EntrepreneurshipThroughAcquisition

From fighter jets to TikTok, satellites to steel, nothing is off the table when it comes to creative-even-crazy ideas to secure Canada's sovereignty. We asked you for a bunch of out-of-the-box policy ideas, and what we got is an affirmation that you are fired up, focused on the future and full of ways Canada can win. Featuring Jon Shell, Michael Ras, Robert Welke, CEPA, B.Comm Cert. Value Builder, Author, Mathieu Côté, Sean Lowrie, Sandra MacDougall, P. Eng., MMIE, Dr. Astrid Scholz, Claudia A., areni K., Wren Montgomery, Bastiaan Vermonden, Joshua Gelata, Roland Kupers, Michael Wodzicki Complete list in the comments. Rebuttals? Rethinks? Add your💡below. #AlwaysCanada #Never51

Jon Shell asked, and you delivered - a long list of creative ideas that might actually surprise the U.S. and put Canada on the front foot for once. From fighter jets to TikTok, nothing is off the table. Our latest #Never51 piece is a crowdsourced compendium of policy ideas that meet this moment. Check it out: https://lnkd.in/gPxkMPJ3 Rebuttals? Thoughts? Got the juices flowing? Add your💡below.

@Indigenous businesses, check out this media opportunity below!

As the threat to Canada’s sovereignty intensifies, we need policies that keep Canadian companies owned by Canadians. With many business owners approaching retirement and the Canadian dollar in free fall, Canada faces the risk of a significant business sell-off to our southern neighbours. Employee ownership is not only an attractive option to business owners looking to sell. It's proven to benefit workers, the long-term strength of the business and the broader economy - all key ingredients for economic sovereignty. Learn more from Employee Ownership Canada's Michael Ras and our Chair Jon Shell in their latest op-ed for the Calgary Herald. 👇 Link in the comments. #EmployeeOwnership #AlwaysCanada #Never51

For Canada to build a more resilient economy, we must strengthen our communities! This means securing local assets, democratizing the economy and ensuring wealth circulates within communities rather than being extracted by distant, corporate interests. In The Conversation Canada, Audrey Jamal and Heather Hachigian explain how community wealth building can create a more secure and inclusive Canadian economy. Community wealth building moves away from the current "extractive" economy, which prioritizes the exploitation of land, resources and people, toward one that builds wealth from the ground up. Link in the comments below. 👇 #AlwaysCanada #Never51 #ElbowsUp

Join me on Saturday in Toronto? I'm going to the Elbows Up, Canada! rally at Nathan Phillips Square. 2pm. Lots of great performances and speakers (including Jim Cuddy and Captain Canada Arlene Dickinson). Will be fun to let an "O, Canada" rip when the crowd is big enough and passionate enough so I don't have to hear my own horrible singing voice. See you there.

Economic uncertainty is a bad thing, if you want you know, economic growth, job creation, things like that This data set is quite amazing. Uncertainty today is as high as right at the peak of the shut-down at the very beginning of the pandemic, and twice as high as when the global financial system was literally melting down like Chernobyl and brought in one of the nastiest recessions of my lifetime. Stop for a second and just think of those two markers, and think about where we are today. Crazy IMO