Canada Investment Summit Unveils Nearly C$500B in Commitments Across AI, Finance and Infrastructure

Canada concluded its first Investment Summit in Toronto with the federal government announcing nearly C$500 billion in investment and financing commitments, following two days of meetings on September 14 and 15 that brought together investors from nearly 30 countries managing more than C$100 trillion in assets. Prime Minister Mark Carney hosted the summit in partnership with CPP Investments and PSP Investments as part of Ottawa’s broader plan to catalyze C$1 trillion in total investment in Canada over the next five years.

The commitments span several forms of capital and are not all direct investments. The government said pension funds, insurers and institutional investors committed nearly C$100 billion in new capital, while Canadian banks pledged close to C$325 billion in financing for businesses and infrastructure. Investment funds also committed to mobilizing more than C$14 billion for Canadian companies, infrastructure and strategic sectors.

Among the summit’s largest initiatives was the launch of the Maple Fund, a cooperation framework between CPP Investments and Brookfield Asset Management designed to generate and execute up to C$50 billion in equity investments in critical infrastructure and strategic industries across Canada over an initial five-year period. Investments will be structured on a 50-50 basis, with each organization contributing up to C$25 billion. PSP Investments also plans to increase its Canadian investments by approximately C$25 billion, while the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan intends to invest an additional C$10 billion in Canadian public and private markets by the end of 2027.

In one of the largest announcements linked to the summit, Bell Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan unveiled a major expansion of Bell AI Fabric, creating a pathway toward a 1.2-gigawatt Canadian AI infrastructure hub in the province. The expansion represents approximately C$52.5 billion in capital investment and is expected to create more than 4,500 jobs across construction, operations, management and related services. The project also emphasizes Canadian control of data and what Saskatchewan describes as strengthening data sovereignty.

Canadian banks account for the largest share of the overall figure announced by Ottawa. TD committed C$150 billion over five years in new lending, underwriting, advisory and other financing activities across energy, critical minerals and resources, defence and aerospace, digital and AI, and infrastructure. Scotiabank announced more than C$100 billion in financing over five years, while BMO plans to invest and mobilize up to C$70 billion over ten years. CIBC earmarked C$2 billion for defence-related and dual-use businesses, while RBC announced plans to invest and mobilize nearly C$1.5 billion to support high-growth Canadian technology companies.

The summit was not limited to financial commitments. Carney also used the event to announce a major change to Canada’s investment tax environment through the Productivity Mega Deduction, which allows businesses to immediately deduct the cost of a much broader range of new capital investments. Eligible assets include computer equipment, fibre-optic cable, software, certain mining and energy assets, aircraft and vehicles, rail infrastructure, bridges and roads.

According to calculations from the Department of Finance Canada, the measure will reduce the marginal effective tax rate on new investment to 6.4%, compared with 16.9% in the United States under the department’s 2026 estimates. Ottawa is positioning the measure as a way to strengthen Canada’s competitiveness for global capital while lowering the cost of new business investment.

Carney also opened another major economic file at the summit, announcing that the federal government will seek private investment through long-term operating concessions for Canada’s four largest airports in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary, while retaining public ownership of the underlying land and assets. The Prime Minister said capital raised through the process would be reinvested in infrastructure, including regional airports, local transportation systems and nation-building projects such as a sovereign broadband backbone connecting Canadians across the country and through more direct links with Europe and Asia.

In defence and critical minerals, the federal government announced C$700 million in new funding through the Business Development Bank of Canada to accelerate the growth of Canadian defence and dual-use technology companies. The package includes C$500 million through specialized investment funds and C$200 million for StrongNorth. Ottawa also committed approximately C$140 million through the Canada Growth Fund to support Generation Mining’s Marathon copper and palladium project in northwestern Ontario.

The commitments form part of a broader federal push toward sectors Ottawa considers strategic to growth and economic security, ranging from energy and critical minerals to defence, artificial intelligence and infrastructure. Carney told investors that the government’s new standard for major projects would be “One project. One review. One year,” as Ottawa seeks to shorten the time between investment decisions and construction.