Canada just pitched global investors on 167 nation-building projects while its biggest institutions pledged over $400 billion CAD. The takeaway from this week’s Canada Investment Summit: the country wants to rewire its economy, and it wants outside money to help.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s gathering in Toronto drew major international funds, all presented with projects spanning infrastructure and tech. Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors stepped up with massive capital commitments. As a result, the federal government also rolled out a Productivity Mega Deduction tax incentive aimed at boosting business investment at home.
Beyond the headline numbers, the summit produced a striking announcement. Carney confirmed federal backing for a sovereign internet network stretching coast to coast, including Arctic connections. He framed the project as a route to more secure, direct links with Europe and Asia, reducing Canada’s dependence on US-based internet infrastructure and associated surveillance risks.
Tech investors who attended the adjacent CVCA Growth Forum reported optimism about new relationships formed during the week. Sagard chair and CEO Paul Desmarais III captured the mood with a blunt declaration: “Canada is back.” However, some observers tempered that enthusiasm. Jaxson Khan, a former ISED senior policy advisor now leading Aperture AI, said the real test lies in execution. Without follow-through, he cautioned, the summit’s promises may never reach the startup sector.
The summit also surfaced tension in the AI world. Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez rejected a call from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and xAI leaders to slow AI development and pursue global regulation. Gomez argued Silicon Valley giants seeking to bend competition rules would form “a cartel by any other name,” pushing instead for evidence-based standards.
Carney, meanwhile, floated the idea of a global AI oversight body modeled on the Financial Stability Board. Europe extended its own invitation: associate membership in the European Union, a prospect that could mean significant regulatory overhaul for Canada.
The real work starts now, as commitments turn into contracts and capital begins to move.
