Outgoing Telus CEO Darren Entwistle wants the federal government to scrap foreign ownership caps for Canada’s biggest telecom companies entirely.
Speaking with The Globe and Mail’s Editorial Board, Entwistle made the case that lifting these limits would boost competition and could double as a useful chip in upcoming trade talks with the US.
“Let’s let free market forces reign,” he told the Globe. Right now, foreign investment in Rogers, Bell, and Telus is capped at a combined 46.7 per cent, and Canadians have to hold at least 80 per cent of board seats. Ottawa scrapped these rules for smaller carriers back in 2012, but the big three have been stuck with the same restrictions for over a decade.
With the feds gearing up for a major USMCA review, Entwistle thinks loosening these rules could smooth over some trade friction with Washington. “I think there’s a list of fair U.S. irritants,” he said. “So, why don’t we address some of those and put ourselves in a better position to get a negotiated outcome?”
Asked how Ottawa should actually go about it, Entwistle wants a clean break, not a half-measure. “Do it cleanly,” he said. “Don’t monkey around with silly parameters.”
That said, Entwistle isn’t arguing for a free-for-all. He says opening the market needs to come with stronger oversight so dominant players can’t take advantage, pointing to Europe’s antitrust approach as a model. He wants Canada’s Competition Bureau to get more teeth. “Bang! The Competition Bureau can lean in,” he said. “Hard teeth.”
Entwistle is making this push as he wraps up 26 years at the top of Telus. He’s set to retire on June 30 and move to Britain. Victor Dodig, the former CEO of CIBC, who has been a member of the Telus board of directors since 2022, will take over.
Back in 2013, when there was the threat of American telecom Verizon coming to Canada, Entwistle said don’t expect a price war with the US company, at the time.
Asked why more executives don’t speak up about the current rules, Entwistle pointed to plain old comfort with the status quo. “There’s, I guess, a level of intransigence that comes with the status quo,” he said. “It’s known. It’s comfortable.”
It’s clear the CRTC has no control over big telecoms, despite trying to reign in fees. The only way to open up the telecom sector is to bring in some real foreign competition. But that doesn’t seem to be the Canadian way in any industry.
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