Prime Minister Mark Carney has unveiled plans for a Canada Investment Summit in Toronto this September, aiming to attract $1 trillion in investments over the next five years to fuel nation-building projects.
Scheduled for September 14 and 15, the summit will bring together 100 of the world’s largest investment firms and sovereign wealth funds, including heavyweights like BlackRock and Singapore’s GIC. Co-hosted by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP), the event is pitched as a chance to showcase Canada as a stable haven for capital amid global volatility. Carney’s vision hinges on leveraging Canada’s strengths as an energy producer with a skilled workforce to fund critical infrastructure, pipelines, and technology sectors.
The push comes after a troubling decade for Canadian investment. Between 2015 and 2024, over $1 trillion in foreign capital fled the country, marking what an RBC report dubbed the largest capital exodus in Canadian history. Last year, however, offered a glimmer of hope, with foreign direct investment surpassing $100 billion for the first time since 2015.
Carney’s administration is framing Canada as a reliable bet in an era of geopolitical unrest, trade disruptions, and conflicts like the ongoing war in Iran, which has driven up gas prices. Specific projects on the table include the Contrecoeur Container Terminal at the Port of Montreal and the McIlvenna Bay Foran Copper Mine in Saskatchewan, both designated as national priorities. The government has also launched a Major Projects Office to streamline approvals, addressing long-standing criticism of regulatory bottlenecks.
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Michel Leduc, senior managing director at CPPIB, emphasized the summit’s broader ambition. “We want to showcase what Canada offers to the world of global investors,” he said. Goldy Hyder, CEO of the Business Council of Canada, struck a more cautious note, warning that the country must prove it can execute on big projects or risk missing another critical window.
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Economic headwinds persist, with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business reporting a sixth consecutive quarter of more small businesses closing than opening. Yet RBC projects that with advancements in energy, critical minerals, and renewables, Canada could draw up to $1.8 trillion in foreign investment over the next decade.
The summit’s success will be measured by concrete commitments, not just promises. With U.S. tariffs and global uncertainties looming, Carney’s target of $1 trillion by 2031 stands as a bold benchmark for Canada’s economic revival.
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