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The Canadian government is making its case to global investors, and it is arguing that trust is now the scarcest commodity on offer.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has framed this week’s Canada Investment Summit as a chance to sell chief executives and investors on a country rich in minerals and energy that is actively trying to reduce its reliance on the US.
The guest list is substantial.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said those attending control more than C$120 trillion (€74.7tn) in global capital.
Representatives of Bank of America and Berkshire Hathaway are due at Tuesday’s main event, alongside Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest businessman, and envoys from major Gulf investment agencies.
Answering the critics
Canada has spent years being told by investors that it is a difficult place to do business, with project approvals slow and burdened by bureaucracy, but Champagne argues that this is now in the past.
Officials, he told AFP, “understand now that speed and skill are what’s needed to seize this golden opportunity”, adding simply that “the world has changed.”
The Canadian finance minister also pointed to shifts in the global economy that favour Canadian resources.
“We have the critical minerals to power the growth, and I would say a lot of people see critical minerals as the fuel of the 21st century,” Champagne said, noting that the country also has “an abundance of energy.”
Selling trust, not comparisons
The summit takes place against the backdrop of deteriorating relations with Washington.
Trade ties have unravelled since US President Donald Trump returned to office, and the White House is expected to impose further tariffs this month, yet American investors are still coming.
Asked whether Canada was marketing itself as a hedge against a more protectionist US, Champagne pushed back against that characterisation.
“I don’t compare with others. Capital will go where it finds the opportunities,” he said, adding that “the most sought-after commodity today is trust. Canada is more and more seen as a trusted partner in a very uncertain world.”
The EU sits at the centre of the Canadian prime minister’s realignment efforts.
Carney will fly to Strasbourg after the summit to address the European Parliament, continuing a push that began with his address to the World Economic Forum in January, where he called on middle powers to band together against what he termed “superpower aggression”.
Champagne also said that the alliance between Canada and the EU would deepen this week.
“Our European partners are keen on a strong transatlantic relationship,” he said, arguing that the bloc is drawn to Canadian “certainty and predictability”.
Additional sources • AFP