Category: SIERC News

Today’s North American Economic Nationalisum isn’t unprecedented it’s a pattern

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

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How Canada must face its winter of reckoning

In this op-ed, Dr. Mussio explores Canada’s current economic and institutional crises, arguing that history provides lessons for renewal. He highlights how Canada has long struggled to balance aspirations with practical governance and emphasizes the need for courage, competence, and cultural renewal. The unbuilt “Angel of Peace” monument serves as a metaphor for Canada’s unrealized potential, urging leaders to embrace bold reforms and rekindle a shared sense of purpose.

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DeepSeek and the trillion-dollar history lesson

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.

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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

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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.

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Insights for Pandemic-Era Leaders

In this webinar presented jointly by The William J. Clinton Leadership Institute and the Long Run Initiative, Canadian business historian and SIERC CEO Dr. Laurence B. Mussio hosts a panel of business and economics historians in a discussion about how a long-run perspective helps them think about how Covid-19 will affect businesses, the financial system, inequality and globalization.

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B/W Castor branch from 1909

Witness to Yesterday Podcast Features SIERC CEO Dr. Laurence B. Mussio

Dr. Gregory P. Marchildon, eminent historian and University of Toronto professor and host of Witness to Yesterday, the Champlain Society podcast on Canadian history, met recently with SIERC CEO & author Dr. Laurence B. Mussio to ask him about his landmark work on the history of Bank of Montreal: Whom Fortune Favours: The Bank of Montreal and the Rise of North American Finance, Vols 1 & 2, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press.

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