Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada is “taking control” of its future as his inaugural Investment Summit kicks off in Toronto this week amid renewed trade tensions with the U.S.
Addressing a room of business and government leaders Sunday night during the summit’s welcome reception, the prime minister also hinted at deals that could be announced in the coming days.
“Tomorrow, something remarkable will happen,” Carney said. “The world is looking at Canada differently. And I suggest we should look at ourselves differently too,” he added.
“It’s not about who we aren’t, or who we are. It’s not about what’s lost — but it’s what we have, and what we can create.”
The prime minister said Canadian banks and pension funds have already committed to deploying hundreds of billions of dollars in capital domestically in the days leading up to the summit.
Last week, BMO announced it would pump up to $70 billion into critical economic sectors over the next decade, while CIBC pledged $2 billion to help small- and medium-sized businesses in the Canadian defence sector.
“I suspect there are a few more announcements coming,” said Carney. “What we’re doing is looking to match that level of ambition abroad.”
On Monday, some of the world’s largest investors will come browse Canada’s shopping window at the two-day event taking place at the Four Seasons Hotel.
The summit is meant to attract new investment to nation-building projects at various stages of development as Carney has set out to bring in $1 trillion in total investment over the next five years. The ongoing trade spat with U.S. President Donald Trump has raised the stakes of this mission.
“We have what the world wants,” said Carney. “The energy, the resources, the talent, the technology. And our greatest strength is something that can’t be found in any balance sheet: Trust.”
Over the next few days, Canada’s top CEOs will be meeting with global pension funds and asset managers, including American giant BlackRock and Singapore’s Temasek.
A document obtained by the Star showed that at least 167 domestic projects will be pitched to investors.
“Your opportunity, as Canadian leaders, is to leverage this moment to make new connections, to turn curiosity into interest, and to make this week the catalyst for future action,” Deborah Orida, CEO of PSP Investments, which is co-hosting the summit, said in a speech during the reception.
Attendees on Sunday included Aidan Gomez, co-founder of AI company Cohere, as well as Martin Imbleau, CEO of Alto, the high-speed rail network project connecting Toronto to Quebec City.
Provincial and federal government officials, including Canada-U.S. trade minister Dominic LeBlanc, were also invited.
The summit is convening against the backdrop of the trade disputes with Trump’s U.S. administration. Canadian retaliatory tariffs on nearly $28 billion in American products took effect Tuesday, the latest move in the current friction.
The summit will be just the start of a busy week for Carney, who is heading to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France to attend the annual State of the Union address. Officials on both sides have suggested developments are in the works for Canada and the EU’s economic and security relationship.
“Canada is taking control of our future,” he said during his speech Sunday. “We will build more. We will trade more with each other, we will trade more with the world, and we will create sustainable prosperity here at home.”
