Minister of Finance François-Philippe Champagne speaks with reporters at the Milken Institute's Global Dialogues Toronto summit.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
09/14/26 15:03
A growing sense of optimism on the sidelines
– Jameson Berkow
AI Minister Evan Solomon speaks at the Milken Institute's Global Dialogues Toronto summit.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Chatting in between sessions at the Canadian Global Growth Forum, three high-profile attendees shared a sense of growing optimism.
Federal AI Minister Evan Solomon was speaking with Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew on the sidelines of the event when former BlackBerry co-CEO Jim Balsillie approached the pair.
After shaking hands with both men, Balsillie leaned in, grinned and was overheard saying, “This is working, this is working.” Solomon and Kinew nodded in agreement before all three walked together to a nearby private meeting room to join a delegation from the United Arab Emirates.
09/14/26 14:30
Capital Power CEO says Canada still needs to remove regulatory roadblocks
– Emma Graney
Transforming the enthusiasm of business and political leaders into final investment decisions will be the real challenge at the Canada Investment Summit, says Capital Power chief executive Avik Dey.
The business community is on board with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s effort to broaden Canada’s economic ties and committed to big projects, but catalyzing it into final investment decisions and shovels in the ground means busting through Canada’s multiple layers of bureaucracy and regulation, Dey told The Globe on Monday.
Ottawa’s Major Projects Office goes some way toward doing that, but lacks the teeth to say, “These are the projects we’re supporting, and here’s how we’re going to push them through to approval,” he said.
Dey spent Sunday evening at an invite-only reception at the Royal Ontario Museum. There, nearly 500 guests from sectors such as banking, mining, pension funds and technology rubbed shoulders with federal and provincial politicians ahead of the summit.
“I’ve been in finance and energy my entire career, working around the globe, and I’ve never seen a room like that assembled last night of Canadian business leaders, policy makers, the federal government,” he said.
“It was very inspiring as a Canadian to be in that room.”
09/14/26 14:11
The AI conundrum rears its head at the Milken conference
– James Bradshaw
Cohere co-founder and CEO Aidan Gomez, left to right, RBC CEO Dave McKay and Minister of AI Evan Solomon speak at the Milken Institute's Global Dialogues Toronto summit.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
There was an interesting mix of alarm and reassurance on a panel about artificial intelligence at the Milken event that just wrapped up.
RBC CEO Dave McKay said he doesn’t think “we have enough guardrails” in place to keep AI safe. But he also played down the prospect of massive job losses in the next two years, saying we’re in “a huge period of pivoting and reimagination, but I don’t think it’s a destruction.”
Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez acknowledged that “there are risks around this technology,” but also dismissed predictions of dramatic job losses. And he suggested that frontier AI labs calling for a co-ordinated slowdown of development is “a really, really dangerous problem” that resembles cartel-like behaviour.
And AI Minister Evan Solomon made the case that if we build the technology wrong, there will be dangers, and communities won’t give the social licence to build data centres.
At the same time, “you don’t stop building,” he said. “You build it safer.”
Later today there will be a major data centre announcement “in the tens of billions of dollars,” he said. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe are expected to make that announcement this afternoon.
09/14/26 13:39
Trade war ‘the greatest gift’ for Canada, Brookfield exec says
– Jameson Berkow
The trade war that Donald Trump is waging against Canada will ultimately prove itself to be a good thing, says Cyrus Madon, executive chair of Brookfield Private Equity.
“This is the greatest gift that anybody could have given our country,” Madon told the Canadian Global Growth Forum on Monday. “Like unbelievable, because it’s forcing us to focus on what really matters.”
“Every level of government now is talking about how do we create jobs, how do we track capital? How do we create certainty for investors? How do we grow our GDP per capita? Nobody talked about that ever, ever. It’s only now,” he said.
Madon said Canada should introduce tax policies that encourage more wealthy people to establish residence in the country as a way of boosting foreign investment.
“They bring with them the entire apparatus. They bring their people, their advisers, their companies and employment,” he said. “Now, that might be a bit too out there, but that’s something that has actually worked in other regimes.”
He also said the best way for Canada to improve living standards and economic productivity was to facilitate the growth of small businesses into much larger corporations.
“The number one driver of GDP per capita in any country is large companies,” he said.
09/14/26 12:40
Carlyle Group ups its stake in the Canadian oil patch
– Jeffrey Jones
Oilfield pumpjacks produce crude on wells in the Duvernay oil formation north of Red Deer, Alberta.Larry MacDougal/The Canadian Press
Major U.S. investor Carlyle Group has kicked off a week of Canadian deal activity with a takeover of a private oil and gas producer, its second Alberta oil-patch deal in a little over a year.
Carlyle-backed Avenrock Energy Inc. said on Monday it agreed to buy Parallax Energy Operating Inc. The deal gives it a 75-per-cent operating interest in light oil assets in the East Shale Duvernay of Alberta at a time of keen interest, owing partly to surging crude prices.
Avenrock did not provide a value for the transaction, though a source with knowledge of the deal said Parallax’s enterprise value was about $1-billion. Gross production from the assets is roughly 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, with 85 per cent made up of oil and natural gas liquids. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the person as they are not authorized to discuss the details of the transaction.
Last October, another Carlyle affiliate, Cygnet Energy, acquired Kiwetinohk Energy in a $1.4-billion deal, including debt. That also gave it acreage in the Duvernay region, along with the Montney. Both are known as prolific oil and gas production areas.
Carlyle International Energy Partners is providing the equity for the Parallax deal, the company said.
These assets were not among those listed in a prospectus of mostly infrastructure projects for Ottawa’s investment summit, though Carlyle is participating in the event.
09/14/26 12:30
Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund offers three ways Canada can become more investable
– Jameson Berkow
Languille said Canada first needs to “pivot its thinking from transactions to longer-term partnerships.”Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Camilla Languille has a three-step plan for Canada to follow to attract more foreign investment of the exact sort that Prime Minister Mark Carney is courting.
She is co-CEO of private equity at Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund that has invested billions of dollars in Canada since 2009. She is also Canadian.
Speaking at the CVCA’s Canadian Global Growth Forum on the Toronto waterfront, Languille said Canada first needs to “pivot its thinking from transactions to longer-term partnerships.”
“Canada wants to attract more long-term capital. It needs to deepen its relationships with these global investors,” she said. “Just spend time with them, visit them in their home countries, come to the UAE not once but regularly, understand the ecosystems, the strategic objectives, their priorities, and how they can partner with you.”
Second, give investors “a clear entry point and a clear path to follow.”
“Canada’s federal structure is a strength in many ways, but it can also make investment development fragmented,” she said. “It’s difficult for a global investor to navigate multiple federal departments, provinces, regulators, agencies independently.”
Finally, Languille said, addressing interprovincial trade barriers will directly improve Canada’s international trade relationship.
“To a global investor, interprovincial barriers can make Canada feel more like several markets rather than one – removing barriers to labour mobility, unified standards and approvals would help companies scale nationally from day one, and so that global investors like ourselves can help take them to the next level with the global markets,” she said.
Her closing remarks are worth reading in full:
“We believe that the best measure of success is not how much capital Canada attracts, but really how many global companies are financed, scaled and led from here. The challenge is Canadian. We see that the innovation is Canadian. The opportunity is to ensure that the next generation of global champions remain Canadian too. International investors like Mubadala want to help build these companies. Give us opportunities we can underwrite, a path that we can follow clearly, and partners that are committed to the long term with us in the local markets, and we will build them with you.”
09/14/26 12:17
Official guest list of Canadian Global Growth Forum is mainly North American
– Jameson Berkow
For an event with “global” in its name and a focus on selling Canada to the world, there are an awful lot of locals here.
The Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association says half of the roughly 250 attendees at the Canadian Global Growth Forum are from outside of Canada and the U.S., but walking around the room glancing at lanyards, only a handful appeared to hail from abroad.
We also got our hands on the official guest list, which is mainly North American.
In his opening remarks, CVCA CEO Ben Bergen said a key goal of today’s event is to expand on the long-standing interest of U.S. investors in the Canadian market.
“Today we get to show the rest of the world what [the Americans] have known for years,” Bergen said. “By the end of the day, you should know whether Canada should be in your portfolio and exactly who to call when opportunities arise.”
09/14/26 12:05
The gaps holding back investment in Canada, and how to get capital moving
– Stefanie Marotta
Fitch Ratings global analytical head Jeremy Carter speaks at the Milken Institute's Global Dialogues Toronto summit.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Next up was a session on getting capital moving to finance Canada’s next stage of growth, which is Ottawa’s main goal with this week’s investment summit.
Fitch Ratings global analytical head Jeremy Carter, TMX Group CEO John McKenzie, TD Securities head Tim Wiggan and Future Fund deputy CIO Hugh Murray discussed the gaps holding back investment, and the solutions that could get key projects off the ground.
The gist: Canada doesn’t have a lack of capital, but a lack of investable projects. For the panelists, investable projects mean those with clear regulatory requirements and efficient approval timelines.
McKenzie said that instead of the Major Projects Office, he would like to see a “minor projects office” to accelerate initiatives among smaller businesses that could grow into Canada’s next major corporations.
Carter said while it’s still too early to know whether the MPO has made a real difference, it sends the right message that politicians are focused on launching and completing high-level marquee projects.
Wiggan said the MPO is one piece of the puzzle. Complexity at a global scale is at historical levels and a key question is on how to adapt to the new environment. Answering that question will require both policy makers and capital allocators, including banks, to work together, he said.
09/14/26 11:52
Analysis: What’s Carney’s pitch? You can build things faster, and we’ll come along for the ride
– Mark Rendell
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a major projects announcement in Terrace, B.C., last November.ETHAN CAIRNS/The Canadian Press
For years, Canada has had a reputation as a tough place to build major resource and energy projects. There’s a graveyard of pipeline and oil sands projects to prove it.
Mark Carney’s pitch to the who’s who of global finance gathered in Toronto this week is that this environment is changing. Over the past year, Ottawa has made a series of regulatory, legislative and institutional changes aimed at speeding up project permitting and reducing the number of hurdles companies need to get over to get shovels in the ground – with more changes to come.
It’s set up the Major Projects Office as a concierge service for big projects, signed “one project, one review” deals with provinces to reduce duplication for environmental review and First Nations consultation requirements, and it’s contemplating a range of other changes to environmental review rules and bureaucracy to reduce the amount of time projects spend in regulatory limbo.
Ottawa is also putting more skin in the game by promising to use its balance sheet to de-risk private-sector investments.
It has tweaked the mandates and risk profiles of the various Crown corporations involved in financing projects: the Canada Infrastructure Bank, Canada Growth Fund, Export Development Canada and Business Development Bank of Canada. Each is being directed to invest in “nation building” projects and take on more risk, while the explicitly green lens the Trudeau government put on these organizations is taking a back seat.
There are also newer public finance tools, including the Canada Strong Fund, which Ottawa will use to take equity stakes in major projects, and the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program, which looks to overcome opposition by helping Indigenous groups acquire an economic stake in major projects.
So what’s the pitch? You can build things in a reasonable time frame, and we’ll come along for the ride. Let’s see whether investors believe Ottawa this time around.
09/14/26 11:38
Pension fund CEOs on earmarking billions for investment in critical sectors
– James Bradshaw
PSP Investments CEO Deborah Orida speaks at the Milken Institute's Global Dialogues Toronto summit.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Canada Investment Summit co-organizer Deborah Orida, CEO of the $321-billion Public Sector Pension Investment Board, mentioned the fund’s pledge last week to increase its Canadian investments from $72.4-billion to $100-billion in the next few years.
“Importantly, that is driven by not a government edict, but rather the investment opportunities that we’re seeing on the private side, including places like infrastructure,” she said at the Milken Institute’s event.
Politicians and business leaders have been calling on Canada’s pension funds to invest more domestically, while those funds have emphasized their independence and mandates to invest where it’s best for plan members.
Last week, when the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan said it plans to invest another $10-billion in Canada by the end of 2027, I asked CEO Jo Taylor if there had been pressure from the government to announce a target.
“I’m a big boy. I think I can choose when I want to say something,” he replied.
09/14/26 11:27
Canada can build AI data centres ‘the right way,’ Cohere CEO says
– Jameson Berkow
Aidan Gomez, co-founder and CEO of Cohere, speaks at the Canadian Global Growth Forum.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Aidan Gomez, co-founder and CEO of Canadian AI company Cohere, says he believes building more data centres would give Canada greater leverage in its international relationships.
“We have many strengths in terms of data centres. We have a cold climate, we have clean energy. We are very well positioned to become a superpower in data centres to the world. We can do that if we choose to,” Gomez said.
He continued: “I think what we have to do is win the social lease to do that. We have to prove that many of the concerns, things like water consumption, energy consumption, carbon output, these very valid concerns that the public has – that we aren’t executing on building data centres in the same way as others around the world.
“We are in a unique position to do it the right way and do it well, and it would give our country extraordinary leverage on the world stage.”
09/14/26 11:20
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew pitches investors on Port of Churchill expansion
– Bill Curry
Premier of Manitoba Wab Kinew addresses guests at the Canadian Global Growth Forum.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew pitched investors on plans to expand the Port of Churchill, saying his government will offer tax breaks on spending related to the project.
The Premier spoke to an audience of investors in Toronto on Monday at the Canadian Global Growth Forum, which is organized by the Canadian Venture and Private Equity Association.
In his brief speech, Kinew said Manitoba will offer a provincial sales-tax exemption on major capital investments related to what his government calls the Port of Churchill Plus project.
“What we’re here to say is that Manitoba is a maritime province. We have a port that is in operation right now that can get you to the EU more quickly than other ports in Canada. And that we have a tremendous investment opportunity with LNG and energy exports from Manitoba,” he said. “We’re willing to do the deal-making to make this thing happen.”
While Churchill has an existing port, the province is pushing for a major expansion. Given the shortened shipping season in the north, expansion would require the use of icebreakers in Hudson Bay to extend the season.
Expansion would also need an upgraded rail line and a new energy corridor. In February, the federal government announced a market-sounding study to gather industry input on the project’s potential.
09/14/26 11:13
Massive U.S. investor on what makes Canada unique
– Jameson Berkow
John Toomey is CEO of HarbourVest Partners, which has roughly US$160-billion in assets under management.
He told the room full of global investors that Canada “was the first of its kind” to offer what in 2014 was known as the Venture Capital Action Plan and later as the Venture and Growth Capital Catalyst Initiative, which he described as “one of the most successful public-private projects on the planet.”
The public-private partnership is difficult to export, he said, adding that he has tried to get other countries to build similar programs.
“I think what Canada has achieved here, in partnership with the government, has been quite unique and quite successful.”
09/14/26 10:54
Canada on the cusp of an investment supercycle: TD Bank CEO
– Stefanie Marotta
TD Bank Group CEO Raymond Chun speaks at the Milken Institute's Global Dialogues Toronto summit.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Toronto-Dominion Bank chief executive Raymond Chun opened the event by telling a room of finance leaders that Canada is on the cusp of an investment supercycle.
Earlier Monday, the bank said it is committing $150-billion over five years in new lending, underwriting, advisory and other financing activities aimed at driving growth across sectors that are essential to boosting Canada’s economy.
The Canadian economy could launch an investment “supercycle” if certain steps are taken, including increasing the competitiveness of the country’s tax and regulatory systems, according to a recent TD report.
The report estimates that $1-trillion in new investments across more than 300 projects is already approved or being considered through 2035.
TD assessed those projects and identified five key sectors the bank believes will drive economic growth: energy, critical minerals and resources, defence and aerospace, digital technology and artificial intelligence, and infrastructure.
“For the supercycle to take effect, it’s more than just the capital of the banks,” Mr. Chun said in an interview.
“It’s about how do you make sure you get the investors and the opportunities linked together, the work that has to get done with government, and then the subject-matter experts from the banking side, and certainly our funding – all of that needs co-ordination and to be brought together.”
09/14/26 10:35
Canada to prioritize tax rulings for investments of $1-billion or more: Champagne
– James Bradshaw
Minister of Finance François-Philippe Champagne, left, and Milken Institute CEO Richard Ditizio arrive to speak at Global Dialogues Toronto summit.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
At the Milken Institute’s event, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced a new federal measure to offer “advance tax rulings” for investments of $1-billion or more. That would give investors binding decisions on how Canadian tax law will apply on a transaction before they commit capital, giving them more certainty.
He also answered a question about the perception that Canada is slow to get projects done by saying, “The tone at the top matters a lot.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney understands that “the time to market really matters,” he said. “We’re trying to fix and change how things are done.”
Ottawa is well aware that investors have complained about too many holdups and lengthy approval processes in Canada that make closing a big deal uncertain. This new measure seems to be aimed squarely at removing one of those friction points.
The room has more than 200 people, including pension fund CEOs and CIOs and senior bankers. Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Mark Wiseman, is among those who are standing at the back because all the seats are taken.
09/14/26 10:24
A bumpy start to the Canadian Global Growth Forum
– Jameson Berkow
It has been a bit of a bumpy start to the Canadian Global Growth Forum. Printer problems led to long lines at registration – ironic given the highly tech-savvy crowd – so many attendees at this connection-building conference will have to go without name tags for a time.
Ben Bergen, chief executive of host organization the CVCA, promised the issue will be resolved soon in his opening remarks, before welcoming everyone to “the greatest city on the shores of Lake Ontario.”
“No disrespect to Hamilton or to our dear friends in Rochester. A year ago, that would not have been a political statement, but it has been a weird year.”
09/14/26 09:57
TD commits $150-billion to fund Canadian companies in critical sectors
– Stefanie Marotta
TD Bank Group CEO Raymond Chun leaves after speaking at the Milken Institute's Global Dialogues Toronto summit on Monday.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Toronto-Dominion Bank is committing $150-billion over five years in new lending, underwriting, advisory and other financing activities aimed at driving growth across sectors that are essential to boosting Canada’s economy.
The country’s biggest banks have been launching initiatives ahead of Ottawa’s investment summit to provide capital for Canadian companies as the federal government attempts to reduce economic dependence on the United States.
TD’s initiative focuses on five key sectors that the bank believes will drive economic growth: energy, critical minerals and resources, defence and aerospace, digital technology and artificial intelligence, and infrastructure.
For potential projects, TD listed clean and conventional energy, exploration and extraction of resources, aerospace supply chains, AI innovation and commercialization, and ports and trade corridors, among others.
TD said it already has subject-matter experts in these areas and is adding capacity and talent as it expands in these sectors. But partnerships with government and investors will be necessary to make progress on key projects.
“For the supercycle to take effect, it’s more than just the capital of the banks,” TD chief executive Raymond Chun said in an interview.
09/14/26 09:50
Scotiabank commits more than $100-billion to help fund expansion of Canadian companies
– Stefanie Marotta
Scotiabank is committing more than $100-billion in financing to help Canadian businesses expand in sectors including clean energy, oil and gas, critical minerals and defence.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Bank of Nova Scotia is committing more than $100-billion in financing to help Canadian businesses expand and is launching an institute led by a former ambassador to assess the country’s long-term competitiveness.
Ahead of Ottawa’s investment summit, Canada’s biggest banks have been launching initiatives to provide financing for domestic companies as the federal government races to reduce the country’s dependence on the United States.
As part of Scotiabank’s initiative, financing, underwriting and investment will be available to Canadian companies and projects in sectors the bank believes will drive economic growth over the next five years.
The sectors included in the initiative will align with the areas targeted by Canada’s Major Projects Office, including clean energy, oil and gas, critical minerals, advanced manufacturing, technology and defence, Scotiabank chief executive Scott Thomson said ahead of the Canada Investment Summit.
“You’ve seen an increase in interest from foreign investors in Canada. Canada does have what the world needs from a resources perspective, but also from a talent, institutional strength and trust perspective – and the interest is there,” Thomson said in an interview.
09/14/26 09:38
Hello from the Milken Institute conference in Toronto
– Stefanie Marotta
Good morning, I’m Stefanie Marotta and I report on banking, regulation and competition in the financial industry. I cover some of Canada’s most influential decision-makers on Bay Street and the money moves that affect the country’s consumers, businesses and corporations.
This morning, I’m at a conference held by the Milken Institute, a U.S. think tank, in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood. I’ll be posting updates throughout the day, so stay tuned.
09/14/26 09:15
Is Carney a closer? The summit will be the ultimate test
– James Bradshaw and Stephanie Levitz
Illustration by The Globe and Mail
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s plan to bring the world’s most powerful investors to Toronto was always a gambit to ease the economic pressure from the Trump administration’s trade crusade by pitching Canada as an alternative, more reliable place to put money to work.
What event planners could not have predicted is the way a feud over tariffs would boil over into a full-blown trade war just days before those money managers are set to touch down, and the intense spotlight it is shining on Canada – for better and for worse.
It is Carney’s reputation and relationships, backed by a co-ordinated push from some of Canada’s most influential chief executives, that have convinced the masters of the world’s deepest pools of capital to gather for two days at the Canada Investment Summit, at a scale never seen before on Canadian soil.
The event Monday and Tuesday will mark the biggest test yet of a project to reframe the way global investors see Canada. The pitch is that the country has an increasingly competitive business environment, a pipeline of investable major projects and middle-market deals and deserves investors’ attention not just as the junior part of a North American market, but on its own terms.
It’s one thing to get CEOs to attend a summit. It’s another for Carney and Canadian corporate leaders to convince them to invest huge amounts of capital.
09/14/26 09:00
The big names attending, from AI to the UAE
– Jameson Berkow
Camilla Macapili Languille, co-CEO of Mubadala’s Private Equity platform, is speaking at the Canadian Global Growth Forum.Supplied
There are some seriously big names here at the Canadian Global Growth Forum today.
Camilla Languille, co-CEO of private equity for Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund that bought Canadian asset manager CI Financial for $4.7-billion back in 2024, is speaking.
There is also a whole delegation from the United Arab Emirates, which agreed to invest $70-billion in Canada last year.
Brookfield Private Equity executive chair Cyrus Madon, Sagard CEO Paul Desmarais III and HarbourVest Partners CEO John Toomey are all speaking. Prominent Canadian investors such as Inovia Capital, Northleaf Capital Partners and Novacap are making presentations.
Then there are some of Canada’s hottest startups. AI company Cohere Inc., which The Globe reported last week is in talks to raise up to US$3-billion, has sent its CEO Aidan Gomez. Quantum computing firms Nord Quantique, Photonic and Xanadu are all here, as is satellite maker Kepler Communications and AI-powered self-driving tech provider Waabi.
09/14/26 08:50
Hello from the Milken Institute Global Dialogues conference
– James Bradshaw
Attendees gather before the opening of the Milken Institute's Global Dialogues Toronto summit on Monday.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Good morning, I’m James Bradshaw and I cover institutional investing, which means I write regularly about many of the largest investors touching down in Toronto today and tomorrow. I’m starting my morning in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood at an event hosted by the Milken Institute, a U.S.-based think tank. Then I’m going to ping pong around town to meet CEOs and soak in the action.
09/14/26 08:45
Hello from the Canadian Global Growth Forum
– Jameson Berkow
Hello, I’m Jameson Berkow and I cover capital markets for The Globe. Today I’m reporting from the Canadian Global Growth Forum on the Toronto waterfront, where the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association is hosting roughly 250 attendees (representing a whopping $13-trillion in assets) for a day that the CVCA is hoping will establish new international investment relationships.
Outside of the formal agenda, the CVCA is also curating one-on-one meetings in private rooms. Everyone will have three to four meetings, each around 20 minutes. Half the attendees are from outside Canada and the U.S., which CVCA chief executive Ben Bergen said will help address what he described in an interview as the “overconcentration” of investment from the U.S.
Right now, he said, Americans supply 80 cents out of every dollar in growth-stage private equity money that Canadian companies receive.
09/14/26 08:30
Crowds from multiple events create security challenges for investment summit, experts say
– Jill Mahoney
A road is closed off across the street from the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto on Sunday.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s investment summit poses unique security challenges, experts say, in part because the Toronto event is expected to draw a large protest on Monday evening amid crowds of film-festival buffs and baseball fans.
The convergence of several high-profile events in the city’s downtown risks stretching the resources of police and other emergency responders, said Jack Rozdilsky, a York University professor who specializes in disaster management.
“There’s going to be a stress test on Toronto’s downtown core,” he said.
Toronto Police are ramping up security for the summit and officers expect to set up “intermittent rolling” road closings, said Stephanie Sayer, a police spokeswoman.
“The Toronto Police Service is preparing for a busy period in the city, with several major events taking place simultaneously,” she said in an e-mail. “We have plans in place to ensure public safety, manage traffic and minimize disruptions as much as possible.”
Sayer said Toronto Police are working with partner agencies, including the RCMP. She declined to provide details on tactics, resources or officer deployments, citing operational and safety concerns.
A coalition of groups, including those representing labour, Indigenous, housing and environmental interests, are planning a “mass protest” on Monday evening. Organizers say protesters will gather at Nathan Phillips Square and march to the AGO dinner.
“The message is that Canada is not for sale and that our future can’t be decided behind closed doors by billionaires, by bankers, by global investment firms,” said Bianca Mugyenyi, a protest organizer.
09/14/26 08:30
Canada starting to draw attention from global investors, Carney says
– Bill Curry and James Bradshaw
Prime Minister Mark Carney said global investors are “looking at Canada differently” ahead of a high-level forum this week courting overseas capital, as Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said she is confident that visiting executives will announce deals in the coming days.
Speaking on Sunday to a business audience in Toronto at a welcome reception for the Canada Investment Summit, Carney said the country has begun to draw increased attention from the world’s largest investors.
“Something’s changed over the past year in our country,” he said to nearly 500 invited guests, most of them Canadian, from sectors such as banking, mining and technology, as well as federal and provincial politicians.
In an interview before Mr. Carney made his remarks, Joly said many of the people involved have already been in discussions leading up to the two-day event.
“I’m confident that we can be able to reach deals. There’s lots of interest,” she said. “There’s been a lot of conversations about potential deals before the summit. Many of the projects that are on the table, we’ve been discussing with many investors for months now.
“Now I’m confident that we can get to MOUs, so intent of investment. Of course, then there will be work to be done on the due-diligence side, which makes sense.”
09/14/26 08:30
Prospectus for Carney’s summit highlights more than 160 projects open for investment
- James Bradshaw, Emma Graney and Bill Curry
Officials organizing the Canada Investment Summit have identified more than 160 projects in various stages of development that are open for investment, including a proposed $10.9-billion high-speed rail link between Edmonton and Calgary and a planned $57-billion Port of Churchill expansion project.
A 66-page “prospectus” booklet was shared with summit attendees last week ahead of the event on Monday and Tuesday. It is framed as “a snapshot of the diverse opportunities available across multiple asset classes, sectors and stages of development.”
There are eight categories of proposed projects, spread across the country: conventional energy, clean energy, minerals and metals, marine and port infrastructure, power and utilities, digital technology, advanced manufacturing and transportation.
The document is the first detailed look at an array of investment opportunities that Mr. Carney and Canadian chief executives will present to major global investors next week. It offers a sample list of concrete ways to invest in the country over the coming years and a signal about the priority industries and types of projects Ottawa expects to highlight.
Most of the prospectus is devoted to energy and resources, with 11 conventional oil and gas projects, 31 clean energy proposals, and a sprawling mining section listing 63 minerals and metals opportunities.
09/14/26 08:30
Carney’s investment summit set to begin in Toronto
- James Bradshaw, Andrew Willis and Stephanie Levitz
An SUV is parked outside of the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto on Sunday.Laura Proctor/The Globe and Mail
Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to host hundreds of CEOs and senior executives from many of the world’s largest global investment organizations in Toronto as the inaugural Canada Investment Summit begins.
The summit, which will take place between Sept. 14 and 15 at the Four Seasons Hotel, will pitch Canada as an attractive, stable place to invest as Ottawa looks to expand its trade ties to soften the blow from an expanding tariff war with the United States.
The event is part of the Carney government’s plan to promote the country’s resources and major projects, with a focus on showcasing Canada’s energy, critical minerals, defence sector and advanced technologies. It is being co-organized by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Public Sector Pension Investment Board.
The guest list includes investors from the United Arab Emirates and the wider Persian Gulf region whom Mr. Carney has been courting. The China International Capital Corporation and China Investment Corporation are also expected to attend.
There will also be top executives from Blackstone Inc., BlackRock Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and the world’s largest bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
The summit’s formal program will kick off with a gala dinner on Sept. 14. The main event is the next day, with a plenary session, panel discussions, small group meetings and a concierge service to match people up for sideline discussions, much of which will happen behind closed doors.
It is the first of its kind in this country, pulled together in about six months, and will take place while the Toronto International Film Festival is in full swing and the city is buzzing with celebrities.
Here’s everything we know so far about the summit, including the guest list, agenda and more.