Canadian Political Economy on Staple Thesis

In an impressive overview of the state of Canadian Political Economy, a new book Change and Continuity ed. by Mark P. Thomas et.al. includes two important articles on the continuing relevance of the staple thesis. On the one hand, Jim Stanford’s “Staples Dependence Renewed and Betrayed: Canada’s Twenty-First Century Boom and Best” does just as its title tells because of the reversion to dependence on petroleum as a staple export since 2000 and the deindustrializing effect on the national economy. On the other hand, Suzanne Mills and Steven Tufts in “Innis’s Ghost: Canada’s Changing Resource Economy” focus on the regional and local impacts, including those on indigenous people. The two articles neatly complement each other. The staple thesis is alive and well.

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