From Investment Summit to Global Strategy: Canada Must Deliver

by Maj (ret’d) CORNELIU, CHISU, CD, PMSC FEC, CET, P.Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East The first Canada Investment Summit, held in Toronto on September 14 and 15, was more than an investment conference. Combined with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s subsequent diplomatic activities in Europe and at the United Nations, it revealed an emerging national strategy: attract capital, accelerate major projects and diversify Canada’s economic relationships during an escalating tariff conflict with the United States. The summit produced an impressive headline, nearly $500 billion in investment and financing commitments. Investors from almost 30 countries, managing more than $100 trillion in assets, attended. Canadian pension funds, insurers and institutional investors committed almost $100 billion. Canada’s major banks promised nearly $325 billion in financing. Bell and Saskatchewan proposed a $52.5-billion artificial-intelligence infrastructure hub, while other funds pledged billions for Canadian technology and infrastructure. These numbers are encouraging, but they require careful interpretation. Bank financing is not the same as direct investment. Money available for lending has not necessarily been allocated, and some projects remain conditional on customers, regulatory approvals, electricity supplies and supporting infrastructure. The summit’s success must therefore be measured by what happens next. The government should report regularly on how much capital is actually invested, which projects reach construction, how many permanent jobs are created and how much Canadian ownership and intellectual property are retained. Prime Minister Carney also introduced the Productivity Mega Deduction. It will allow businesses to deduct immediately the cost of a wider range of investments, including mining properties, pipelines, software, fibre-optic cables, aircraft, railways, roads and research. The government estimates that the measure will reduce Canada’s marginal effective tax rate on new business investment from approximately 13 per cent to 6.4 per cent, less than half the corresponding American rate. That could become a significant Canadian advantage as tariffs disrupt established North American supply chains. However, tax incentives cannot compensate for regulatory paralysis. Investors need predictable decisions, sufficient electricity, skilled workers and reliable transportation. Carney’s proposed standard of “one project, one review, one year” is therefore essential. Faster reviews must not mean abandoning environmental protection, constitutional responsibilities or meaningful Indigenous participation. It means coordinating governments, eliminating duplication and reaching clear decisions within reasonable timelines. Immediately following the summit, Carney travelled to Liverpool and Strasbourg. In an address to the European Parliament, he proposed an “alliance for the future” between Canada and the European Union, one extending beyond the existing Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. The proposed alliance would include critical minerals, energy, defence production, artificial intelligence, advanced computing, space, digital trade and financial services. Canada would contribute resources, energy and technological expertise. Europe would offer manufacturing strength, research capacity, investment capital and access to a market of approximately 450 million people. The initiative is strategically important, but it remains a proposal. Some European governments have responded cautiously, preferring fuller implementation of CETA to an undefined form of Canadian associate membership. Several EU members have still not fully ratified CETA, while agricultural regulations and differing standards continue to restrict trade. Canada should therefore concentrate on achievable objectives: completing CETA ratification, recognizing compatible standards, facilitating digital commerce, securing critical-mineral agreements and expanding opportunities for Canadians to study, work and conduct business in Europe. In Liverpool, Carney met British Prime Minister Andy Burnham. Canada formally applied to join the Joint Expeditionary Force, while the two leaders discussed energy, artificial intelligence, critical minerals and defence-industrial cooperation. Canada is also participating as an observer in the Global Combat Air Programme and considering modernization of British military training at CFB Suffield. These initiatives demonstrate that defence and economic policy are increasingly connected. Canadian defence spending should not simply purchase finished equipment from foreign manufacturers. It should help develop Canadian engineering, aerospace, shipbuilding, cybersecurity and advanced-manufacturing capacity. Participation in European defence programs could give Canadian companies access to larger markets while strengthening national security. Carney subsequently met French President Emmanuel Macron in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. Their discussions covered aerospace, energy, critical minerals, satellites, quantum technology and supercomputing. He also met Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, emphasizing energy, Arctic security and strategic cooperation. France and Norway are natural partners. France is a major European power with strong cultural and defence connections to Canada. Norway, like Canada, is an Arctic democracy and important energy producer. Both relationships could support Canada’s attempt to become a more significant energy, technology and security partner for Europe. At the United Nations General Assembly, Carney continued presenting Canada as a dependable international partner and stable destination for investment. His agenda included meetings with political leaders and investors, international cooperation and reform of the United Nations. Canada’s diversification strategy is also expanding toward Asia. Trade negotiations with the Philippines and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are reportedly more than 90 per cent complete. Ottawa hopes to conclude agreements by November. Southeast Asia offers rapidly growing markets for Canadian energy, agriculture, critical minerals and technology. Canada’s developing Pacific liquefied-natural-gas industry could provide Asian countries with greater energy security while reducing Canadian dependence on the American market. Diversification, however, does not mean abandoning the United States. Geography, shared infrastructure and deeply integrated industries ensure that the United States will remain Canada’s largest trading partner. Canada should be ready to resume negotiations when a fair agreement becomes possible. However, it should not accept terms that weaken its sovereignty or sacrifice strategic industries simply to recreate yesterday’s relationship. As Carney said following the summit, “nostalgia is not a strategy.” Neither are counter-tariffs a permanent strategy. They may be necessary to demonstrate resolve and defend Canadian producers, but tariffs ultimately increase costs for businesses and consumers on both sides of the border. Canada’s most effective response is to become more productive, develop alternative markets and reduce the leverage of any single foreign government. The government must also protect the national interest as it pursues investment. Public incentives should not become unlimited subsidies for private corporations. Proposed airport concessions must preserve public ownership, national security and reasonable passenger fees. Critical minerals should not simply be extracted and exported. Canada must develop domestic refining, processing and manufacturing. Artificial-intelligence data centres must create Canadian jobs, companies and intellectual property—not merely consume Canadian electricity while foreign firms capture the profits. Trade diversification also requires physical infrastructure. Canada needs expanded Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic ports, improved railways, new pipelines and energy corridors, stronger electricity grids and additional nuclear generation. International agreements accomplish little if Canadian products cannot reach global markets competitively. Internal trade barriers must also be removed. Canada cannot credibly seek freer commerce with Europe and Asia while maintaining unnecessary restrictions on goods, services and professional qualifications between its own provinces. The Investment Summit and Prime Minister Carney’s subsequent diplomacy represent an encouraging change in direction. Investment, infrastructure, defence and foreign policy are beginning to form a coherent national strategy. However, commitments are not completed projects, and diplomatic declarations are not commercial results. Canada must now move from announcements to execution. Our future will not be secured by choosing Europe over the United States. It will be secured by building sufficient economic strength to cooperate with both while remaining subordinate to neither.