Canada appears in the book’s comparison of societies that developed institutions resembling England’s, but reached them by a different route. Together with the United States and Australia, it is presented as a settler colony whose institutional formation helped make it receptive to the Industrial Revolution and contributed to its economic divergence from regions where extractive institutions took hold.

Institutional Development

The account emphasizes that Canada’s institutions were still taking shape as the Industrial Revolution began. It groups Canada with settler colonies whose institutions came to resemble those in England, while distinguishing their historical route from England’s own long conflict between Parliament and monarchy. The comparison identifies institutional resemblance, not an identical sequence of events.

Industrialization and Divergence

The Industrial Revolution spread rapidly to Canada and the other named settler colonies. The book contrasts them with Latin America, where European colonization fostered extractive political and economic institutions, and argues that differing institutional starting points shaped the effects of industrialization. It also identifies Canada, alongside the United States and Australia, as a society that prevented extractive institutions from becoming established and was therefore more receptive to industrialization, pulling ahead of the rest.

Place in the Comparative Argument

Canada’s significance lies in this comparative role rather than in a detailed national chronology. It illustrates the book’s claim that the spread of technology alone did not produce equal outcomes: institutions shaped how societies responded to industrial change. The contrast also makes clear that institutional paths were not uniform; societies could develop arrangements resembling England’s through distinct historical processes.