There certainly are Canadian winners, but they have a habit of rapidly turning into losers. There's even a reasonably well known book about this: http://www.amazon.com/Why-Mexicans-Dont-Drink-Molson/dp/1553...

And I don't believe RIM are in it.

There was a time around 2006 when I lived half in Montreal and half in Brixton, and at that point Arcade Fire could sell out the Brixton Academy (concert venue of about 4000 capacity), while simultaneously getting absolutely no attention in Canada at all. They aren't my taste, but it was curious that one of the great success stories of recent Canadian music was in spite of the fact they didn't secure Canadian radio play until they were popular elsewhere.

I can go on about the bad side of Canadian business, but there is a fear among the more intelligent side that unless Canada snaps out of this trap it looks a lot like a third world resource extraction economy. That this is at least discussed is a cause for some optimism.

There's a book on the subject, "Why Mexicans Don't Drink Molson"

http://www.amazon.ca/Why-Mexicans-Dont-Drink-Molson/dp/15536...

Essentially the Canadian business elite always wanted to set up protected markets where they could collect easy rent instead of competing on the world stage.