Prime Minister Mark Carney has moved Ottawa’s airport privatization review from valuation work to a defined operating model, saying the government will seek private investment through long-term concessions at Toronto Pearson, Montréal-Trudeau, Vancouver International, and Calgary International while retaining public ownership of the underlying land and assets.
The announcement narrows a question Ottawa had left open for months. Budget 2025 said the government would examine airport privatization, lease extensions, rent formulas, and ways to attract private capital. Legislation that received Royal Assent on June 18 later gave the transport minister power to demand information needed to value airports and their operators.
At the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto on Tuesday, Carney said, “We will seek private investment through long-term concessions to operate Canada’s four largest airports.”
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Reuters reported that two asset managers attending the summit said they would be interested in airport investments. No concession lengths, valuations, bidding timelines, investor eligibility rules, or passenger-fee protections were announced.
READ: Carney Advances Airport Valuation Work Ahead of Investor Summit
The structure would represent a major change from Canada’s current airport governance model. Transport Canada owns 23 National Airports System airports and leases them to airport authorities. Those authorities are private, not-for-profit, non-share corporations responsible for operating, maintaining, and developing their airports. They set their own fees and are expected to be financially independent.
Ottawa intends to keep the land and airport assets while granting long-term operating rights and bringing private capital into airport operations and expansion.
Labour opposition was already organized before Carney’s announcement. The Canadian Labour Congress said in a September 11 report that privatization could increase passenger costs and pressure airport employment. The group estimates private investors would need airports to generate 15% to 20% more revenue than under the current model to produce competitive returns. It also said airport rents currently return roughly $525 million annually to the federal government.
Early in July, a Nanos Research poll for Bloomberg found 53% of respondents oppose or somewhat oppose the government proposal, while 32.4% support or somewhat support it.
The government has not yet disclosed how concession proceeds, airport rents, existing airport-authority leases, or future fee-setting powers would be treated under the proposed structure.
