Prime Minister Mark Carney uses the new summit bid to chase a trillion in new investment for the country
More than $1tn in foreign investment has left Canada over the past decade.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is betting a high‑profile Toronto summit can help flip that script and unlock $1tn in new capital.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the first‑ever Canada Investment Summit will run September 14–15, 2026, in Toronto and aims to catalyse $1tn in total investment over the next five years to advance “nation-building projects” and build a “stronger, more independent, more resilient economy.”
The federal government will host the summit with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), two of Canada’s largest institutional investors.
The New York Times reports that Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to host a meeting of investors and executives in September, aiming to draw $1tn in investment into Canada.
The Times reported that the investment plan is part of Carney’s efforts to reduce Canada’s economic dependence on the United States in response to US President Donald Trump’s trade war with his country and to exploit shifts in global energy markets brought about by Russia’s attack on Ukraine and American and Israeli strikes on Iran.
In a statement in the Prime Minister’s Office release, Carney said “Canada has what the world wants” and called it “an energy superpower, with the most educated workforce in the world and rock-solid fiscal strength.”
He said the first-ever Canada Investment Summit will capitalise on those advantages to bring in billions in new investment, leading to more growth for businesses, more high-paying career opportunities and a stronger, more independent Canadian economy.
CBC News reported that Carney has invited 100 of the world’s biggest investors to the Toronto summit, targeting organisations that control trillions of dollars in capital.
The invite list includes private investment firms such as Blackrock and sovereign wealth funds including Singapore’s GIC.
Invitations went out this week and, as CBC noted, none of the invited parties responded before publication.
The Prime Minister’s Office said the summit will “convene the world’s largest investors, including top CEOs, entrepreneurs, and prominent global business leaders” and focus on attracting new investment to support Canada’s nation‑building projects, create new career opportunities and grow the economy.
It highlighted clean energy, critical minerals, new technologies and artificial intelligence as sectors that “create thousands of new high-paying careers.”
The scale of the government’s ambition reflects a decade of weak domestic investment and significant capital outflows.
A report released this week by Royal Bank of Canada, cited by the New York Times, found that Canada has suffered a net $1tn investment outflow over the last decade. It concluded that “for every dollar invested in Canada from abroad, two dollars exited.”
The Canadian Press reported that more than $1tn in foreign investment exited the Canadian economy between 2015 and 2024, which RBC called the “largest capital exodus in Canadian history.”
Yet there are tentative signs of a turn.
The RBC report found that last year was Canada’s first to attract more than $100bn in foreign direct investment since 2015, and projected that Canada could attract up to $1.8tn over the next decade if it advances pipelines, liquefied natural gas terminals, nuclear, hydro, and renewable power, and critical minerals.
CBC News, citing TD Economics, reported that foreign direct investment in Canada recently reached its highest level since 2007 while Canada’s outward investment flows cooled in 2025.
Since becoming prime minister, Carney has targeted lengthy approvals for major projects, “like pipelines,” as a deterrent to investment, according to the Times.
He set up a special office to review and approve projects of “national interest” within two years.
CBC News said he launched the Major Projects Office and designated projects such as the Contrecoeur Container Terminal Project at the Port of Montreal and the McIlvenna Bay Foran Copper Mine Project in Saskatchewan as being in the national interest.
That push faces constraints.
The New York Times reported that Indigenous leaders have raised concerns, particularly over potential pipelines through their territories, and noted that the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Indigenous communities must be consulted on any development that crosses their traditional lands.
The Times also said environmental groups plan to challenge in court any federal plans they view as shortcuts of environmental laws.
The broader domestic backdrop is mixed.
The Canadian Press reported this week that the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has now logged six consecutive quarters in which more small firms closed than opened.
The same outlet also said the Prime Minister’s Office linked the summit announcement to economic fallout from the Iran war, including higher gas prices and US tariffs.
Business Council of Canada CEO Goldy Hyder told CBC News that a summit like this is a good opportunity to promote Canada and help fund projects, but stressed that the real test will be follow‑through.
He warned that if Canada does not move resources out of the ground quickly in a more investment‑friendly regulatory climate, it will miss another window of opportunity and cannot count on “the nine lives of a cat.”
