Frank Stronach says the government should become leaner if Canada wants to be more competitive.

“We’re way overgoverned – way too many bureaucrats and laws and rules,” the founder and honourary chairman of Magna International told BNN Bloomberg’s Paul Bagnell in an interview Friday. “We have to get slimmer.”

“I remember 50 years ago when I started out in business, when the first computers came on the market, they said, ‘Look, if you get one of those computers, you can eliminate one office floor.’ And now 50 years later, I see 50 times more [government] office buildings and office floors. What do you think they do in there? Pushing paper. And that’s choking society.”  

The Austrian-born entrepreneur came to Canada in his early 20s and formed a tool and die company in Toronto, Multimatic Investments Limited, in 1957. The firm subsequently expanded into the production of automotive parts and was renamed Magna International.

Stronach served as chief executive of Magna, which now operates in 29 countries, until 2009 and remained on the company’s board of directors until 2012, when he left to pursue political ambitions in Austria. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame last week in Detroit.  

While critical of bureaucracy, Stronach, now 85, remembers applying to a number of different countries as a young adult but came to Canada because that’s where it was easiest for his visa to get approved.

“I remember when I was 20 years of age, I wanted to see the world, and I applied to South Africa, Australia, the United States and Canada,” he said. “And I’ve always said the Canadian bureaucrats are the best.”

When asked about immigration’s impact on Magna, Stronach said it’s important to be somewhat selective.

“Most of all, if you do too many at once, you’re going to change the culture. There’s a reason why people wanted to come to Canada – because we’re such a great country,” Stronach said.

“If you come here, adopt the Candian way – and that’s a great way.”