Canadian business magnate Jim Pattison, often called the Warren Buffett of Canada, is the country’s third-richest man. The 90-year-old has accumulated most of his wealth from his company Jim Pattison Group, which owns everything from Western Canada’s largest car dealer, to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not franchise, to the canned seafood label Ocean Brands.
Pattison sat down for a conversation with BNN Bloomberg’s Jon Erlichman from Vancouver to share his thoughts on a wide range of topics, including the future of trade relations, Canada’s tensions with China, Alberta’s economy, and the SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. affair. Here are the highlights from the one-on-one interview:
On the state of Canada’s economy
“We definitely notice things are a little bit quieter than they have been, generally speaking. But we always have something that’s up or down. But right now, overall, things are pretty good. But there are definitely some negative things out there that we haven’t seen for a while.”
On the auto business
“The car business overall is doing very well. Now there’s a lot of changes coming, in my opinion, in the car business, but presently, things are acting fine.”
On adapting to change
“If you don’t, you’re going to be eventually out of business – because there’s always change and at least in my opinion, it’s important to embrace the change and try to figure out how you can take advantage of the changes because there always seems be change. And today, the speed of the change is what’s different than what I’ve ever experienced before.”
On Alberta’s economy
“Alberta and Western Canada [are] very important. And if you look over at what Alberta has provided over the years – in the last 30, 40 years – it’s been very significant to all of Canada. But certainly where we live, Alberta is very important.”
On carbon taxes
“My opinion is that global warming is for real – and obviously, we have to do something as a country to support this whole change that’s coming with the atmosphere, climate change and global warming. So I’m a supporter of trying to do everything we can to help the environment.”
SNC-Lavalin scandal
“I think that it will certainly be a factor [in the federal election].”
On ratifying the new NAFTA
“Trade, particularly with the United States, is hugely important. And I’m very hopeful we can get something done as soon as practical.”
On souring Canada-China relations
“We are certainly concerned about it, but we haven’t seen any big negatives up to now.”
On Canada’s handling of the Huawei situation
“It is certainly a sensitive area, and I’m very hopeful we will be able to solve it as soon as possible.”
On being dubbed Canada’s Warren Buffett
“I am no Warren Buffett or even anywhere near close to it. But I was very, very, very pleased and honoured that Warren Buffett came up for [Pattison’s Walk of Fame induction] and I am very, very appreciative of that. But Warren Buffett is in a class all by himself. And he is one very special person and somebody that is very ordinary and human. He may be very rich, but he is a very, very down-to-earth, nice person. … He’s a great example to all of us in business.”
On the importance of giving back
“I was always taught – even when we didn’t have much money – to give back and support people that weren’t as fortunate as we are.”
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