Publications
SIERC's CEO and associates have produced an impressive list of publications - from books, articles and reviews to published speeches on a range of subjects. Here are a few published and forthcoming publications.
At the G7, Canada’s globalist ambitions put our domestic problems in stark contrast
Dr. Laurence B. Mussio, CEO, SIERC & Chair, Long Run Institute
Published in The Globe and Mail, 17 June 2025
In this article, Dr. Mussio argues that Carney’s surprise victory at the polls preserved the influence of Canada’s Laurentian elite. However, as this elite now presides over an economy facing stagnation, a housing crisis, innovation decline, and flawed energy policy, Carney must act quickly: the election win is not a mandate but a narrow window to enact real change – such as a national productivity commission, fiscal reform, productivity-focused immigration policy, and intergenerational policy assessments – before disillusionment empowers a new opposition.
Image credit: MARIN/AFP/Getty Images
New Report: “Applying History to Inform Anticipatory AI Governance”
Dr. Laurence B. Mussio, CEO, SIERC; Chair, Long Run Institute & RAND Corporation
Published by RAND Corporation, April 2025
SIERC is pleased to share an important new report from RAND Corporation and Dr. Mussio in his role as Chair of the Long Run Institute: “Applying History to Inform Anticipatory AI Governance: Using Foresight and Hindsight to Inform Policymaking.” This publication represents the culmination of a two-year collaboration between RAND and the LRI, bringing together Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Robert J. Lempert and Dr. Jonathan W. Welburn with Professor Michael Aldous and Dr. Laurence B. Mussio to explore how historical analysis can inform AI governance frameworks. The full report is available on the RAND website.
A new nationalism is emerging in Canada
Dr. Laurence B. Mussio, CEO, SIERC & Chair, Long Run Institute
Published in The Globe and Mail, 29 March 2025
In this op-ed, Dr. Mussio examines historical and contemporary expressions of Canadian nationalism in response to external threats, drawing parallels between the 19th and 21st centuries. With specific examples he argues that Canada’s historical resilience in the face of existential threats suggests a capacity for unity and sacrifice, even in a modern context where economic dependency on the U.S. poses challenges to independence.
Today’s North American Economic Nationalism isn’t unprecedented it’s a pattern
Dr. Laurence B. Mussio & Dr. Marvin Suessse, Trinity College Dublin
Published in The Globe and Mail, 14 March 2025
In this article Dr. Mussio and Dr. Suesse analyze the underlying logic of Donald Trump’s trade policies through three competing interpretations: a Bluff Thesis, a Reckless Driver Theory and as a Geopolitical Realignment Strategy. However, they also suggest that Trump’s policies are less about foreign threats and more about punishing “globalist” elites within the U.S., echoing other historical patterns. Ultimately, economic nationalism isn’t an anomaly but a recurring force, and businesses and policymakers must recognize and adapt to these cycles.
Image Credit: Jose Luis Magana/The Associated Press
Today’s North American Economic Nationalism isn’t unprecedented it’s a pattern
Dr. Laurence B. Mussio & Dr. Marvin Suesse, Trinity College Dublin
Published in The Globe and Mail, 21 February 2025
In this piece Dr. Mussio and Dr. Suesse argue that the current rise of economic nationalism in North America, exemplified by U.S. tariffs and trade tensions, is not unprecedented but part of a recurring historical pattern. Since 1840, North America has experienced at least five major cycles of economic nationalism, often triggered by a combination of domestic political shifts, technological disruption, and geopolitical tensions. Today, the key difference is the deep economic integration between Canada and the U.S., making the stakes that much higher. However, it is clear that history also offers hope.
Image Credit: Carlos Osorio /Reuters
How Canada must face its winter of reckoning
Dr. Laurence B. Mussio & Professor, John Turner, Queen’s University Belfast
Published in The Globe and Mail, 6 February 2025
In this article Professor Turner and Dr. Mussio discuss the recurring boom-bust cycle in technology and markets, using the recent DeepSeek AI breakthrough as an example. The article highlights how decision-makers often overlook early warning signs – but understanding historical cycles can help businesses better navigate future technological shifts.
Image Credit: Dado Ruvic/Reuters
DeepSeek and the trillion-dollar history lesson
Dr. Laurence B. Mussio & Professor, John Turner, Queen’s University Belfast
Published in The Globe and Mail, 6 February 2025
In this article Professor Turner and Dr. Mussio discuss the recurring boom-bust cycle in technology and markets, using the recent DeepSeek AI breakthrough as an example. The article highlights how decision-makers often overlook early warning signs – but understanding historical cycles can help businesses better navigate future technological shifts.
Image Credit: Dado Ruvic/Reuters
Podcast: Boom, Bust and the Echo of History
What can history teach us about today’s financial landscape? In the latest episode of the popular BMO Capital Markets podcast, SIERC CEO and LRI Chair Dr. Laurence B. Mussio interviews Professor John Turner, co-author of the award-winning Boom and Bust: A Global History of Financial Bubbles. Together they discuss:
- The echoes of past booms and busts in today’s markets
- The transformative potential of AI and general-purpose technologies
- The impact of globalized finance on shaping future economic cycles
Dr. Laurence B. Mussio elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
It is with great delight that SIERC announces the election of SIERC CEO Dr. Laurence B. Mussio to the UK’s prestigious Royal Historical Society. Founded in 1868, “the Royal Historical Society promotes and defends the scholarly study of the past and speaks for the interests of history and historians for the wider benefit of all,” notes Dr. Judy Stephenson of University College London where the Society is based, and who is also a Fellow of the RHS.
Doom Scrolling, Big Tech and Public Policy: The Long View
Dr. Laurence B. Mussio & Dr. Dimitry Anastakis, Wilson/Currie Chair in Canadian Business History, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
Published in The Globe and Mail, 28 September 2020
“Anybody that “doom scrolls” Twitter or any other social media platform might be tempted to believe that Winston Smith, the tortured protagonist of Nineteen Eighty-Four, might see in our own moment strong parallels to his own archetypal dystopia.” Yet The article notes we have the power - the human agency - to change things.
How Economics Tested Positive for COVID-19
Dr. Laurence B. Mussio, & Douglas J. Porter, CFA, Chief Economist and Managing Director, BMO Financial Group
Published in The Globe and Mail, 23 September 2020
“The pandemic experience points us toward an approach that embraces a greater interdisciplinary perspective – one that current models were not designed to provide.”
How the Pandemic is Changing Views on Financial Risk
Dr. Laurence B. Mussio
Published in The Globe and Mail, 13 September 2020
“In finance, the pandemic has demonstrated the value of, and the need for, human judgment in an increasingly algorithm-driven sector.”
Whom Fortune Favours: The Bank of Montreal and the Rise of North American Finance.
Volume 1: A Dominion of Capital, 1817-1945.
Volume 2: Territories of Transformation, 1946-2017.
Laurence B. Mussio
McGill-Queen’s University Press, April 2020
This second title in the Bank of Montreal historical series provides the definitive, scholarly history of one of the North Atlantic world's oldest and most consequential financial institutions.
À qui la fortune sourit: La banque de Montréal et l'essor financier de L'Amérique du Nord, Volume 1 & 2.
Volume 1: Un Dominion et des capitaux, 1817-1945
Volume 2: Domaines en mutation, 1946-2017
Laurence B. Mussio
McGill-Queen’s University Press, April 2020
Why executives need the long-run view
Laurence B. Mussio
Published in The Globe and Mail, 27 December 2019
Big Tech: Monopoly’s Second Moment?
The Hon. Dr. Kevin G. Lynch, P.C., O.C., PH.D, LL.D, and
Dr. Laurence B. Mussio
Published in Policy: Canadian Politics and Public Policy, 13 May 2019
A Vision Greater than Themselves: The Making of the Bank of Montreal, 1817-2017
Laurence B. Mussio
“Examining an astonishing range of material, A Vision Greater than Themselves celebrates the evolution of one bank and how it made its mark.”
Un destin plus grand que soi: L’histoire de la Banque de Montréal de 1817 à 2017
Laurence B. Mussio
“À partir d’une gamme incroyablement vaste de documents, Un destin plus grand que soi célèbre l’évolution d’une banque et la manière dont elle a laissé sa marque.”
The Vision Greater Series: The Making of the Bank of Montreal and the Places that Shaped Canada's First Bank. Speeches in Honour of the Bicentennial of Bank of Montreal
Laurence B. Mussio
This publication reproduces some of the keynote addresses Dr. Mussio made across the North Atlantic world to mark the bicentennial of BMO Bank of Montreal. It was made available internally to the Bank’s 46,000 employees December 2017. A limited number of special edition hard copies were also produced to accompany the publication.
Becoming Bell: The Remarkable Story of a Canadian Enterprise
Laurence B. Mussio
Published by BCE
“Written to be accessible and engaging while telling an important story, this history of Bell reached over 75,000 people and was widely praised as a model of its genre.”
Sun Ascendant: A History of Sun Life of Canada
Laurence B. Mussio
McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2001
“Profoundly well researched ... the best history of a Canadian financial institution written to date. Sun Ascendant is a major contribution to business history, both in this country and internationally” - Professor Ben Forster
Telecom Nation: Telecommunications, Computers, and Governments in Canada
Laurence B. Mussio
McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2001
“Telecom Nation makes an important contribution to telecommunications history in Canada” - Jean-Guy Rens