Foreign investors optimistic about Canada’s changing investment environment — SkimNews
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- Blackstone president Jon Gray, who oversees US$1.3-trillion in assets, called Canada "a bit of a sleeping giant, economically," while warning that well-intended regulation, permitting, and taxation created a "cumulative impact" that previously deterred investment.
- BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said surging demand for new infrastructure is outpacing available capital globally, and that Canada's untapped AI and computing capacity presents a major opportunity — "We're waiting to see those projects. We're ready to put the money in the ground."
- PM Mark Carney's Canada Investment Summit drew roughly 250 CEOs and produced concrete announcements, including an expanded upfront "mega deduction" on investment costs and a new process to allow private investment in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Calgary airports.
- Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing praised Canada's efforts as "heroic" but set a hard deadline: "What you really need to show over the next four months is delivery."
- Barclays CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan said the rupture in Canada-U.S. trade will be felt in U.S. border states including Vermont, Maine, and Michigan, framing the moment as "an opportunity to correct an imbalance."
- French asset manager Ardian already holds roughly $7-billion in Canada with a 30-person Montreal office, and co-CEO Mark Benedetti said he is "really seriously" considering launching a new fund for Canada's middle market.
Why it matters: Roughly 250 CEOs representing trillions in assets — BlackRock's US$15.3-trillion, Blackstone's US$1.3-trillion, CPPIB's $864-billion — descended on Toronto for two days of meetings. The "heroic" praise is conditional: Sewing's four-month delivery deadline, Fink's wait-and-see posture, and Gray's cumulative-burden warning mean Ottawa must convert summit announcements into shovel-ready projects or the capital stays on the sidelines.
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