Monopoly's Moment: The Organization and Regulation of Canadian Utilities, 1830-1930

Abstract

This book explores the struggle to build and regulate Canada's utilities, and the response to the problem of monopoly inherent in these technologies. Using primary sources, the authors have chosen examples from all regions of the country. The book illustrates how regionally distinctive operations of utilities, which relied heavily on public ownership, created a diverse, yet highly integrated utilities sector. It shows that regulation, even more than monopoly, was a social and political product. It also shows that, for purposes of analyzing technological diffusion, the Canadian-American border scarcely existed; the firms that applied the new technologies in Canada also behaved very much like their U.S. counterparts. The first part of the book surveys the history of the first urban utilities in the 19th century. The second part deals with the transfer of technology and the transformation brought by electricity and modern capitalism. The third part deals with regions and regulations, the political crisis of the private industry and the problem of monopoly. The fourth part analyzes and compares the different outcomes of the regulatory process. 731 refs., 5 figs., 46 tabs.