 Harold Adams Innis ( / <unk> / ; November 5 , 1894 – November 8 , 1952 ) was a Canadian professor of political economy at the University of Toronto and the author of seminal works on media , communication theory , and Canadian economic history . Despite his dense and difficult prose , Innis was one of Canada 's most original thinkers . He helped develop the staples thesis , which holds that Canada 's culture , political history , and economy have been decisively influenced by the exploitation and export of a series of " staples " such as fur , fishing , lumber , wheat , mined metals , and coal . The staple thesis dominated economic history in Canada 1930s @-@ 1960s , and is still used by some . 
