Canada’s Opposition leader is calling on the Liberal government to block RBC’s proposed takeover of HSBC Bank Canada, arguing the sale will reduce competition and negatively affect Canadians.

“We need competition in banking. It’s common sense,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told BNN Bloomberg in a Friday television interview.

“Competition does not happen when the biggest player simply swallows the seventh-biggest player and Canadians are left paying the price.”

The Competition Bureau approved the proposed $13.5-billion acquisition last month, though it noted that financial services are concentrated in Canada.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland must now give final approval of the deal.

Poilievre said Friday that he was “confused” by the Competition Bureau’s decision. In a public statement issued earlier in the day, he urged Freeland to reject the deal in order to protect banking competitiveness at a time when Canadians face high costs of living.

Speaking with BNN Bloomberg, Poilievre pointed out that some mortgage rates are currently lower at HSBC Canada than they are at RBC for the same product. He said he fears that those cheaper rates would disappear if HSBC were acquired by its larger competitor.

Poilievre also raised concerns about what he views as a lack of competitiveness in the Canadian business landscape at large.

“We have a problem where very old, very large, government-protected oligopolies have little competition and therefore little entrepreneurial incentive to become more productive and more enterprising,” he said. “One of the only ways to change that is to engender more competition in the marketplace.”

His comments came a day after the Competition Bureau published a report documenting waning business competitiveness over the last two decades, flagging trends such as more concentrated industries and more dominant players with fewer competitors.

FREELAND, RBC RESPOND

A spokesperson for Freeland said her decision on the sale “will be informed by all required regulatory review processes, including those administered by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) and the Competition Bureau.”

RBC said in a written statement that the departure of HSBC Canada’s parent company from Canada has led to “uncertainty” for Canadian customers, and that RBC’s takeover plan offers those people stability.

“We strongly believe that RBC’s proposed acquisition offers HSBC’s Canadian clients the best possibility for continuity and stability, while providing them with innovative made-in-Canada international banking solutions and advanced digital capabilities,” the emailed statement read.

“This proposed acquisition will also keep more well-paying financial sector jobs in Canada and will repatriate overseas roles that currently support HSBC’s Canadian operations.”

RATHER SEE BANKS ‘FIGHT TO WIN OVER’ CUSTOMERS

Poilievre said he does not see any potential regulatory conditions that could be placed on the banking sale to change his position.

He said he is not concerned about potential job losses or other economic impacts if HSBC Canada were to go without a major Canadian buyer, because he argued the bank’s large assets in the country would entice it to stay put.

“Their options would be either to sell to another non-charter bank that does not reduce competition, and if they did decide to slowly wind down their operations, well, then the other banks would at least have to compete,” he said.

“I would rather see all the charter banks in there fighting to win over those 800,000 customers, rather than just having the biggest come along and buy them with a financial transaction.”

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

Environmental advocates have also voiced opposition to the takeover, arguing it would limit green choices in the banking sector and expose Canada’s economy to more climate risks.

A coalition of environmental groups including Stand.Earth, LeadNow, and Decolonial Solidarity issued a statement Friday welcoming the Conservative leader’s stance, saying it shows an “exceedingly rare area of agreement with environmental organizations.”

The groups also reiterated their calls for Freeland to block the sale.

“While we agree less competition in Canada’s already too profitable banking sector will make affordability even worse, we are also concerned that this takeover will put our climate targets even further out of reach, while setting back Indigenous rights, at a time when the Trudeau government says reconciliation and climate change are top priorities for the government,” their statement read.