Canadian Multinational Corporations and Economic Nationalism: The Case of Imperial Oil Limited in Alberta (Canada) and Colombia, 1899-1938

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Abstract

During the twentieth century, Canadian capital invested in the Latin American oil sector through the International Petroleum Company (IPC). Up to date, scholars have neglected to take into account IPC's Canadian corporate citizenship and have analyzed it as an American company because IPC was a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Company (New Jersey). By using an unexplored body of primary sources, this paper argues that IPC's operations in Colombia were a response to the harsh competition it was facing in Canada, the company's lack of success at finding crude sources in Canada, and Canadian political hostility by the progressive movement. In contrast, the company found rich fields in Colombia and a pro-big business government. Initially, the company wanted to use the Colombian fields as a complement to those in Canada. The political conditions and lack of resources, however, made of Colombia a major provider of crude for IPC.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)67-85
Number of pages19
JournalEntreprises et Histoire
Volume54
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Business and International Management
  • History
  • Economics, Econometrics and Finance (miscellaneous)

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