Ive looked into it further, it looks like as a result of the linde/praxair merger, that parent company was forced to divest a bunch of assets, in canada, the states, etc, to prevent a monopoly
So yes, there are still 3 gas companies, Praxair, Air Liquide and Linde, all of them are big internationals, who is actually who I can't figure out
sounds to me like messer, the small fish was given probably a sweetheart deal
But shit that's one deep rabbit hole, the deeper you go the more confusing it gets
On October 26, 2018, the Commissioner of Competition entered into a consent agreement with Linde AG (Linde) and Praxair, Inc. (Praxair) that resolves competition concerns in Canada related to the proposed merger between these two companies.
ised-isde.canada.ca
The Federal Trade Commission is currently accepting public comments on an application from Praxair, Inc.
www.ftc.gov