'Mega' tax writeoffs, private money for airports: How Carney's investment summit unfolded
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summit → unfold → airports
- Canada will seek private investment at the country's four largest airports, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced at the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto on Tuesday.
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Carney → seek → Tuesday
- Carney also introduced a "mega-deduction" tax measure at the summit, as he seeks to attract $1 trillion in new investment to Canada over the next five years.
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he → introduce → years
Ottawa will also help finance nationwide sovereign internet, the prime minister said.
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minister → help → internet
- Hundreds of executives and global asset managers attended the event, where the closing remarks were made by former prime minister Stephen Harper — who said the government had "no choice" but to walk away from trade talks with the United States.
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government → attend → States
Updates
September 15
Abby HughesHow Carney pitched Canada to the world at 1st Canada Investment Summit
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Carney → pitch → Summit
The media room at the Hazelton Hotel is starting to thin out as the final day of the Canada Investment Summit winds down.
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day → start → Summit
The day started with some big announcements by the prime minister in his keynote address — namely, a productivity mega-deduction project that will allow businesses to write off new investments, and a plan to open up Canada's four biggest airports to foreign investment.
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businesses → start → investment
Plenty of politicians and business leaders weighed in about where they saw the value in Canada.
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they → weigh → Canada
But conversations with investors mostly happened behind closed doors.
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conversations → happen → doors
Former prime minister Stephen Harper closed out the day with a speech in which he touched on Canada's souring relationship with the U.S., the need to become an "energy superpower" and what he deemed the country's greatest natural resource — the value it places in partnership.
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it → close → partnership
As Carney heads across the Atlantic for a visit to France and the European Parliament, investors will be leaving Toronto with the pitch to invest in Canada fresh in their minds.
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investors → leave → minds
Quebec made its pitch to some of the world's biggest investors as a dominant player in Canada's defence, energy, transportation and manufacturing sectors, according to the province's Finance Minister Eric Girard.
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Quebec → make → Minister
"Canada is obviously a very diverse country, and we all have different competitive advantages, and so for Quebec, definitely our universities, our talent pool, our geographic location, renewable energy — we have a lot of assets," he said in an interview with CBC News following the summit.
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he → have → summit
The summit also offered a bit of a "wake-up call" for Canadian officials about some of the roadblocks potential investors face when trying to get projects off the ground in Canada, Girard said.
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Girard → offer → Canada
"I think one thing that … I heard time and time again being here, and especially from a U.S. investor, [is] how difficult it is to get projects off the ground in Canada, how difficult it is to get authorization or even to get a no for an answer when they are looking at private projects," he said.
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he → think → projects
"So I think we have a responsibility to admit to ourselves that not all our problems are related to the U.S. president and its tariff policy."
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problems → think → president
- Sarah Petz
Summit also sought to attract investment in defence projects
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Summit → seek → projects
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada is on a path to spend four per cent of its GDP on defence by 2030.
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Canada → say → 2030
Could this investment summit help the country secure the capital it needs to raise its defence profile and capabilities, and meet new NATO spending targets?
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it → help → targets
Power & Politics hears from David McGuinty, Canada's minister of national defence.
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Power → hear → defence
Defence Minister David McGuinty said the investment summit was also a chance to showcase Canada's defence industrial strategy and hopefully attract investment to bolster Canada's defence industry.
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summit → say → industry
The long-awaited strategy, announced earlier this year, aims to use defence investment to create thousands of new jobs, and also outlines a plan for Canada to buy and maintain most of the military's equipment domestically.
"This is a great opportunity for us to reach out to the world and say come one, come all, come join us with money and with research, engineering and other capacity," McGuinty told CBC News.
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McGuinty → await → News
McGuinty said the government is familiarizing a "huge number of sovereign wealth managers" with the opportunities in Canada's defence sector.
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government → say → sector
"People are now aware of the fact that we're very serious, that we're committed over the long term to these defence reforms that we're making, the investments we're making right across the country," he said.
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he → make → country
Finance minister addresses concerns over airport privatization
Power & Politics hears from Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne on Canada's plan to open up its major airports to private investment, as critics warn the move could raise costs for airlines and passengers.
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move → address → airlines
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the federal government will look at best practices from around the world with regards to private investment in airports and consult with workers and communities before moving ahead with any deals.
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government → say → deals
He acknowledged there have been criticisms of private operators in Australia, but said there are other successful models in Europe and that Canadian pension funds are managing airports around the world "very successfully."
"We Canadians have done it at other airports abroad with our pension money," Champagne told CBC News.
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Champagne → acknowledge → News
"We're just saying, let's do it at home."
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's → say → home
Respect, partnership is Canada's greatest resource, Harper says
Harper closed out his speech by extolling what he said was Canada's greatest resource — an attitude of respect and partnership.
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he → say → respect
"No matter their industry, Canadians are fundamentally in the business of building trusted partnerships that benefit both sides," Harper said.
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Harper → build → sides
That value has been in the country's DNA since it was formed, he said, and is an important part of creating value in any investments.
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he → form → investments
"I hope that this gathering is merely the beginning of building such partnerships," he concluded.
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he → hope → partnerships
- Sarah Petz
Harper says it's now critical Canada becomes an 'energy superpower'
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Canada → say → ?
Harper praised the current Liberal government for its efforts to fast-track major project approvals, especially in the oil sands.
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Harper → praise → sands
"These changes are welcome and they are very important," he said, but added that more needs to be done.
"If we do not do these things as a country, the Americans will continue to be our sole customers," he said.
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he → say → country
Harper said becoming an "energy superpower" is no longer just good for business, but "critical to our prosperity and, indeed, to our survival."
- Abby Hughes
Canada possesses unique economic opportunities: Harper
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Canada → say → opportunities
Harper said Canada is uniquely poised as a strong business partner in a changing world.
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Canada → say → world
"Canada possesses a unique economic structure and therefore unique opportunities," he said, touting its wealth of natural resources.
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he → possess → resources
Those resources are found in a country that abides by the rule of law with high environmental standards, according to the former prime minister.
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that → find → minister
…and 18 more, not listed.
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