While the Conservative government avoids describing companies or resources as "strategic assets," there are some resource-sector executives who argue Canada should ensure that it has some home-grown companies in key areas like oil and gas, uranium and base metals mining.
During the battle over Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, oil industry veterans like Richard Haskayne and Jim Gray supported Premier Brad Walls's stand against the proposed takeover and argued Ottawa should make it clear that Canada's leading oil companies are strategic assets and would be considered off limits to foreign acquirers.
However, they argued that only a few top-tier Canadian companies would merit such consideration: certainly Suncor Energy Inc., and perhaps Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Nexen Inc., or even Encana Corp., one of North America's top gas producers.
They have urged Ottawa to avoid repeating the mistakes of the mining industry, where companies like Inco, Falconbridge and Alcan have been lost to foreign acquirers and Canada has lost its status as an major player in the international mining industry to countries like Brazil and Australia.
But while Potash Corp. has an overwhelming presence in the global market, none of those other energy and mining companies wield such clout and therefore don't have a broader "strategic" presence for Canada in the international marketplace.
If the companies themselves are not strategic, is Canadian-controlled development of a key resource a government priority - as domestically controlled Potash Corp. was deemed to be a critical force in the development of Saskatchewan's vast reserves?
Would the Conservative government consider as a strategic matter the presence of at least a couple of Canadian-led companies in the oil sands, one of the world's largest deposits of crude oil? Would the loss of Saskatoon-based miner, Cameco Inc., be seen as "strategic" given its role in extracting and marketing Canada's world-class uranium reserves?
Ottawa has given neither Canadians nor the international market any clear guidance on such questions.