Recently the first Canada Investment Summit put 167 projects before global investors and set a target of $1 trillion in new capital over five years.
asserted
Summit → put → years
The pitch was for pipelines, mines, ports and data centres: large projects seeking big cheques.
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pitch → seek → cheques
It is the right ambition for a country whose most important trading relationship has been put in a blender.
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relationship → put → blender
A sovereign economy is not only built through national megaprojects.
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economy → build → megaprojects
It is built through tens of thousands of businesses, non-profits and projects across the country.
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It → build → country
Sovereignty is who owns ‘Main Street’ — those small local independent and family-owned businesses — whether communities can house their workers and whether the wealth generated in Canadian communities stays in Canadian hands.
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wealth → own → hands
Following the Summit, nearly 500 people from more than 300 organizations sent an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney.
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people → follow → Carney
Catholic nuns and Islamic charities signed it.
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nuns → sign → it
So did the chair of one of Canada’s largest credit unions, foundation and university executives, a pension plan director, Indigenous organizations, land trusts, students and retirees.
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chair → do → unions
The signatories come from Estevan and Edmonton, Victoria and Victoriaville, Yellowknife and St. John’s.
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signatories → come → Estevan
Together, they represent more than $235 billion in assets.
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they → represent → assets
People across geographies, generations and sectors spoke with one voice: build community resilience into Budget 2026.
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People → speak → Budget
Community resilience must be experienced by Canadians on their own streets, in their towns, cities and regions.
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resilience → experience → towns
It means homes people can afford, sustainable and sovereign food systems, healthy natural systems, Indigenous sovereignty and economic self-determination, racial and gender equity in economic life and resilient local economies with good jobs.
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people → mean → jobs
Capital in Canada exists — the policy doesn’t
Canada does not lack capital.
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Canada → exist → capital
We hold some of the largest pools in the world including trillions in pension funds, bank balance sheets and endowments.
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We → hold → funds
Nor do we lack the institutions to move it.
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we → lack → it
More than 700 community finance organizations, from loan funds to land trusts to Indigenous financial institutions, already hold billions and deploy it locally through lending and investment.
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organizations → hold → lending
What Canada lacks is the policy architecture to get capital where it is needed.
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it → lack → capital
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) received just 11.5 per cent of outstanding business loans in 2024, against an OECD average of 44 per cent.
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enterprises → receive → cent
Policy builds markets.
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Policy → build → markets
We even have a homegrown example.
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We → have → example
Quebec deploys billions into communities because of its enabling policy for community finance, from tax credits for Fondaction to framework legislation.
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Quebec → deploy → legislation
Three pillars to unlock Canada’s community capital
What can the federal government do to drive community resilience?
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government → unlock → resilience
Third, pass legislation giving community finance institutions a statutory definition and accreditation, and making community resilience a national priority.
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resilience → pass → definition
The package for this trio of initiatives would cost roughly $3.2 billion over four years and would mobilize up to $15 billion in investment and public savings.
It’s a good investment for Canada in terms of jobs, growth, leverage and impact.
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It → cost → jobs
Every $10 million invested supports roughly 158 jobs and returns more than a dollar in GDP per dollar spent.
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million → invest → dollar
A $50 million a year tax incentive could mobilize hundreds of millions more.
uncertain
incentive → mobilize → millions
Community-financed housing, for example, can avoid billions in public costs.
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housing → finance → costs
None of this requires the government to finance everything itself.
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None → require → everything
Co-financing, guarantees and tax credits multiply public dollars, which is what our federal government strategy seeks for megaprojects.
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strategy → multiply → megaprojects
The same logic applies to a Scarborough housing project, a St. John’s storefront or a First Nations forestry business in B.C.
Community resilience is the outcome.
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resilience → apply → B.C.
Economic sovereignty makes both a national priority.
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both → make → ?
The Summit showed Canada can convene global capital.
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Canada → show → capital
Budget 2026 should put our own capital to work in our own communities.
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Budget → put → communities
The Aporia
