The meeting happened on a November afternoon in 1998. A big merger was in the wind. Rumour of “Yea” or “Nay” ran rampant across the country. One man in the room at a Montreal home argued his industry needed to grow bigger in order to compete globally. The other feared that sector’s customers, Canadian consumers, might not be well served. The industry man got riled.

“You’re not listening to me!” complained John Cleghorn, chairman of the Royal Bank of Canada.

“Mergers … are not in the best interest of Canadians,” said Paul Martin, the MP and cabinet member.

This exchange, described by the Canadian Encyclopedia, recreated the meeting between banker Cleghorn and then finance minister Martin at the latter’s Montreal home. (more…)