Carney Targets International Capital to Boost Canadian Strategic Industries
Prime Minister Mark Carney and top Canadian CEOs plan to showcase energy, critical minerals, defence and advanced technologies as sectors where Canada has untapped potential at a global investment summit in Toronto later this month.
The Canada Investment Summit, on Sept. 14 and 15, is drawing a group of about 250 heavyweight financial-sector executives who lead global companies that collectively oversee nearly $120-trillion in assets.
Mr. Carney will open the summit’s main program on Sept. 15 with a keynote speech and a fireside chat with Deborah Orida, chief executive officer of the $321-billion Public Sector Pension Investment Board, according to an agenda circulated to attendees and reviewed by The Globe and Mail.
An afternoon panel discussion will pitch the country as a stable place to invest in a range of energy assets, from pipelines to nuclear power. The speakers will be Ontario Power Generation Inc. CEO Nicolle Butcher, Suncor Energy Inc. SU-T CEO Rich Kruger and TC Energy Corp. TRP-T CEO François Poirier.
Less than two weeks before the summit, the agenda has spots earmarked for sessions still “to be announced.” Two sources said former prime minister Stephen Harper, now chair of the $211-billion Alberta Investment Management Corp. pension fund, is expected to close the event.
The Globe is not identifying the sources as they are not authorized to discuss details of the summit.
The event gives Ottawa and Canada’s companies a brief, high-stakes chance to pitch the country as an increasingly attractive destination for investment capital. They plan to emphasize the country’s stability – even in the midst of a trade war – and frame it as an option to reduce risk in portfolios that are heavily tilted toward the U.S., Europe and Asia.
John Graham, CEO of the country’s largest pension fund, the $864-billion Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, will make the case for increased investment in a 10-minute speech after lunch.
A list of companies that are expected to attend, shared with attendees and reviewed by The Globe, has dozens of major global investors confirmed, including U.S.-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and KKR & Co. Inc., United Arab Emirates sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. and Oslo-based Norges Bank Investment Management.
The event’s only confirmed panel featuring major investment executives from abroad will be an early afternoon session featuring BlackRock Inc. BLK-N CEO Larry Fink, Blackstone Inc. president Jon Gray, both of whom are based in New York, Singapore state-owned fund Temasek Holdings CEO Dilhan Pillay and Annette Mosman, CEO of the Amsterdam-based pension manager APG. They will discuss “what they see in Canada today,” according to the agenda.
Seven major funds from the Middle East are expected to be there, including the UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Australia’s contingent includes IFM Investors, Macquarie Group and several superannuation funds. Multiple investors from each of France, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Japan and Britain are expected to take part.
From Singapore, an emerging investment hub, Temasek is on the guest list but sovereign wealth fund GIC is not.
An executive from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is also expected to attend.
Representatives from China will likely include China International Capital Corp. and China Investment Corp.
Mr. Carney’s efforts to expand Canada’s trading relationship with China, including an agreement on tariffs that will open the door to 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles, have been a source of tension in fraught trade negotiations with the U.S.
With so many foreign investors attending the summit, the event’s formal schedule is stacked with discussions led by Canadian-based executives and government ministers, who will present the case for doing more deals in Canada.
The guest list includes 26 of Canada’s largest investors, including 11 major pension funds, as well as more than 45 of the country’s most prominent corporations.
The first panel discussion of the day will focus on expanding supply chains for critical minerals through mining will include Tim Gitzel, CEO of uranium provider Cameco Corp. CCO-T , and Jonathan Price, CEO of Teck Resources Ltd. TECK-B-T , which focuses on copper and zinc operations.
The next session will focus on Canada’s capacity for founding and scaling companies in “frontier” technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, and includes Cohere Inc. CEO Aidan Gomez and Xanadu Quantum Technologies Ltd. CEO Christian Weedbrook.
An afternoon panel on Canada’s plans to reinvent its defence and advanced manufacturing sectors will feature CAE CAE-T CEO Matthew Bromberg, Telesat TSAT-T CEO Daniel Goldberg, Linamar LNR-T executive chair Linda Hasenfratz and Bombardier Inc. BBD-B-T CEO Éric Martel.
Investors can also choose to attend 45-minute “investment sessions” led by federal cabinet ministers such as Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc in the morning and afternoon. All 13 provincial and territorial premiers are expected to attend.
There will be a steady rhythm of side meetings in hotel suites and corridors to plant seeds for future deals and partnerships.
Mr. Carney and the summit’s co-organizers, CPPIB and PSP, are hosting a gala dinner on Sept. 14 to welcome attendees. Earlier that day, the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association and the U.S.-based Milken Institute think tank are holding separate conferences.
Other dinners and luncheons are being scheduled around the event. For example, the New York Stock Exchange is holding a private dinner mixing capital markets, film, media and technology on Sept. 15, tied to the Toronto International Film Festival.
The investment summit was deliberately timed to correspond with TIFF, which this year will debut a location dedicated to the business side of the film industry. Festival organizers are setting up a showcase in Toronto’s downtown convention centre for what they are branding as TIFF: The Market.
With a report from Campbell Clark
This article was first reported by The Globe and Mail
