February 3, 2016
Quebec nationalists enraged by $3.2B sale of Rona ‘jewel’ to U.S.-based Lowe’s
Graeme Hamilton | National PostMONTREAL — News coverage of Rona Inc. in recent years has described the Quebec-based hardware chain as “embattled,” “under-performing,” “struggling” and “slumping.”
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Yvan Allaire, president of the Montreal-based Institute for Governance, considers himself a nationalist when it comes to protecting key industries. For example he opposed Rio Tinto’s 2007 takeover of Alcan, which saw the head office leave Montreal along with decision-making over which smelters would remain in operation.
“Alcan was the kind of company you could really get upset about, a huge company with a huge headquarters,” Allaire said. “Here we’re talking about a retail establishment being replaced by another retail establishment, but the name will be kept and so on.”
