Carney is seeking $1 trillion in investments.
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Carney → seek → investments
What will it take to land major deals at this week's summit?
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it → take → summit
Long turnaround times and approval issues have previously turned some investors away from Canada
Hundreds of deep-pocketed investors have descended on Toronto for the first-of-its-kind Canada Investment Summit.
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Hundreds → turn → Summit
The summit, which began with a reception on Sunday, aims to bring together global investors with Canadian business leaders in the hopes of catalyzing $1-trillion worth of investments across the country over the next five years.
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which → begin → years
But the stakes are high, as the escalating Canada-U.S. trade war has turned up the pressure to forge new relationships, and prove that Canada is a good place to invest.
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Canada → escalate → relationships
So, who is coming to the summit and what does Canada need to do to land new cash for its big projects?
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Canada → come → projects
Here's what you need to know.
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you → need → what
Who's coming?
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Who → come → ?
CBC News previously reported that Carney invited 100 of the world's biggest investors to the summit.
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Carney → report → summit
The government has kept the final guest list close to its chest, but some big names are reportedly on it.
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names → keep → it
Larry Fink, chairman of BlackRock Inc. — a U.S.-based investment firm and the world's largest asset manager — and Dilhan Pillay, CEO of the Singapore-based investment firm Temasek, are some of them.
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Fink → base → them
Managers of massive sovereign wealth funds including Norway's government pension fund and state-owned firms like the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. will also be there.
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Managers → include → Co.
"It's essentially a who's-who on the investment side," said Jeremy Kronick, president and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute, the economic think-tank, with plenty more banks and money managers from Canada and abroad expected to attend.
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banks → say → Canada
A guest list for Sunday night's reception also named top executives from lots of Canadian companies as attendees in addition to American leaders, including Air Canada, artificial intelligence company Cohere, Enbridge and Alto — which is planning a proposed high-speed rail line that would connect Toronto and Quebec City.
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that → name → Toronto
Dozens of Canadian politicians, including a number of premiers, were also in attendance.
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Dozens → include → attendance
Some 167 projects, ranging from a proposed pipeline carrying oil from Alberta to B.C.'s coast to developing satellite technology for Earth observation, are among the investment opportunities on the table, according to a 66-page prospectus obtained by CBC News.
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projects → range → News
The prospectus groups projects into eight types: 11 conventional energy projects, 31 clean energy ones, 63 in mining and metals, 16 in marine and port infrastructure, 11 others in power and utilities, 10 in digital technology, 19 in advanced manufacturing and six transportation projects.
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prospectus → group → manufacturing
More than half of them are related to energy and mining, which Kronick says shows where the government's priorities lie.
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priorities → relate → energy
Some of the most expensive and highest-profile projects on the list include that $35-billion pipeline to B.C., a roughly $79-billion expansion of the Port of Churchill in northern Manitoba and the proposed $28.5-billion Ksi Lisims liquid natural gas terminal on the B.C. coast.
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Some → include → coast
Why do we need it?
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we → need → it
The goal is to show Canada off as a "compelling investment destination," as the government puts it — even though that hasn't always been the case.
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that → show → it
Kronick says long turnaround times for big projects and uncertainty about whether they will get approved have turned some international investors off of Canadian projects in the past.
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they → say → past
A recent report by the CPP Investment Insights Institute — the research arm of the firm which is helping lead the summit — collected responses from 65 global institutional investors about their perceptions around a number of developed countries.
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which → help → countries
Canada ranked highest in stability and regulatory predictability, and the investors said they saw opportunity in Canada's critical minerals, energy and other resources.
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they → rank → minerals
But regulatory complexity and permitting timelines were big concerns, especially among those interested in mining and energy projects, according to the report.
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complexity → accord → report
Because Canada is considered a small economy, Kronick says more work needs to be done to make it a competitive option compared to other developed nations.
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it → consider → nations
And hosting a summit like this — to signal the country is serious about building big things — is a good start.
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country → host → things
"I think the change in tone is welcome," Kronick said.
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Kronick → think → tone
"It's been missing in the last number of years."
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It → miss → years
He says business leaders here must show that Canada is serious about the major projects on the table, with the man-power and machinery ready to get them built quickly.
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them → say → table
Even if deals don't materialize quickly, Kronick says any that come down the line could boost Canada's productivity and GDP in a big way.
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that → materialize → way
If the government plays its cards right, a report from TD Bank predicts Canada could see an investment "supercycle" that lasts a decade or longer, creating jobs and boosting real output per capita by $12,000 per person.
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that → play → person
But for some, the idea of foreign investment raises worries that companies abroad will have too much control over Canadian projects.
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companies → raise → projects
Federal NDP Leader Avi Lewis, for one, has criticized Carney's investment summit as a plan to "save this country by selling it off."
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Lewis → criticize → it
A protest counter-summit is also planned to coincide with the event.
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summit → plan → event
Organizers argue the government will "auction off" public resources in any deals it makes with outside firms.
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it → argue → firms
And indeed, not all foreign money is created equal, says Walid Hejazi, an economics professor at the Rotman School of Management in Toronto, who focuses on foreign investment.
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who → create → investment
He says there are always perceived risks with outside investments; that those firms will want to take a heavy hand in controlling the production and strategic decisions of those investments.
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firms → say → investments
And public perception only worsens when the investments are in projects that are seen as strategic investments — think critical infrastructure or national security — rather than those that are "simply commercial."
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that → worsen → infrastructure
Ottawa pitches 167 projects ahead of Carney's investment summit
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Ottawa → pitch → summit
…and 7 more, not listed.
