Canada’s first-ever investment summit has sent a strong message that the country is ready to attract new capital, but experts say the real challenge will be turning that enthusiasm into major projects that can actually secure financing, win approvals and move into construction.
The two-day summit in Toronto, hosted by Prime Minister Mark Carney alongside two of Canada’s largest pension investors, was designed to build a lasting pipeline of private investment for major projects across the country.
The event generated a series of multibillion-dollar investment announcements. Ottawa says those commitments form part of a broader ambition to attract a total of $1 trillion in investment to Canada over the next five years.
Yet the longer-term impact of the initiative will depend on whether investor interest can ultimately translate into projects that are approved, financed and built, observers say.
Rachel Samson, vice-president of research at the Institute for Research on Public Policy, said measures such as the productivity mega deduction tax incentive, along with the government’s streamlined regulatory approach of “one project, one review, one year,” could make Canada more attractive to investors.
“It shows that projects won’t be bogged down the way that perhaps they once were,” Samson said. “But we do have to prove that it works.
“It’s not enough to have a flashy brochure, you really have to show that the investments can be done in the way that they’re being pitched.”
More than 160 projects in the spotlight
The summit showcased a 66-page prospectus featuring more than 160 proposed projects spanning energy, minerals and mining, marine and port infrastructure, power and utilities, digital technology, advanced manufacturing and transportation.
Patrick Leblond, an associate professor of public and international affairs at the University of Ottawa, said the investor momentum generated by the summit could help lower the perceived risks associated with financing large-scale Canadian projects.
He noted that even where some investments may have gone ahead regardless of the summit, the attention surrounding the event can help draw additional capital and communicate to international investors that Canada remains an attractive destination.
However, Leblond warned that investor enthusiasm can quickly fade when projects encounter prolonged delays or fail to secure support from local communities and Indigenous groups.
Projects also need access to enough workers and a regulatory system capable of processing approvals efficiently, he said.
“The No. 1 thing is getting the communities around these projects on board,” Leblond said. “You need buy-in.”
Community and environmental concerns remain
A significant number of the projects presented at the summit are concentrated in conventional energy, minerals and metals — sectors that can face stronger opposition because of environmental concerns.
Many mining and energy developments also involve Indigenous communities, making local support an important factor in whether projects can move ahead.
“A lot of these projects in mining and energy involve Indigenous communities and if we don’t bring them on board, they could eventually block these things and then that’s when investors will move on,” Leblond said.
Beyond community support, he identified the availability of skilled labour as another major challenge.
The labour force, he said, could become the second biggest obstacle to delivering large-scale projects successfully.
“It’s all great to build pipelines, to build mines, to build a high speed rail network,” Leblond said. “But who will be the engineers, the metallurgists, the construction workers. Where are they going to come from?”
