Exploring Public Attitude Regarding a Single National Securities Regulator in Canada

Canada is the only developed country without a national securities regulator. Unlike other developed countries, such as the United States, there are 13 different jurisdictions that regulate securities in Canada. The problem addressed by this qualitative research study is the existence of 13 unique financial regulatory agencies as opposed to one national-level regulator in Canada. The strongest opposition to a national securities regulator emanates from the two provinces of Alberta and Quebec. This study explored the attitudes of the members of the financial industry in Quebec and Alberta toward a single national securities regulator in Canada, as well as the role played by the rational choice theory in their decision-making process. A qualitative approach was chosen for this study because of its ability to examine a complex phenomenon and generate detailed information through inductive reasoning. Ten participants were selected from a population of registrants and regulators of the financial industry in Alberta and Quebec. Three independent reports were also reviewed and their conclusions compared to the results of the interviews. The interviews as well as the review of the independent reports demonstrated a congruence of support for a single national security regulator. The results of the interviews were described in three themes. They included the opinions of the participants, their perceptions of what was driving the debate, and the environmental or contextual factors. The participants registered a near unanimous support for a single national securities regulator. They cited a variety of reasons including cost, cumbersome regulations, ineffective enforcement, and discouragement to foreign issuers. The participants categorized the drivers of the debate into historical and contemporary contexts. Historical grievances and suspicions of the central government were factors. There was also a concern that a national regulator might not be responsive to unique local economic interests. Both the interviews and the documentary reviews showed evidence of bounded rationality instead of the rational choice theory. A future recommendation would be to test the larger Canadian population's support for a uniform national securities regulation, and its willingness to cede the appropriate constitutional authority to the central government to effect that change.