A breakdown of who pledged what in Toronto, the new tax write-off behind it, and why the headline figure blends loans, funds and intentions.
The first Canada Investment Summit closed in Toronto on September 15, 2026, with the federal government announcing nearly $500 billion in new investment commitments aimed at Canadian businesses, infrastructure and strategic industries. The two-day gathering, convened by Prime Minister Mark Carney and hosted in partnership with CPP Investments and PSP Investments, drew investors from close to 30 countries who collectively manage more than $100 trillion in assets.
The headline number is made up of bank lending targets, pension fund allocations, new investment vehicles and corporate capital projects announced on the margins of the event. Ottawa paired those private pledges with two policy moves of its own: a new immediate write-off regime called the Productivity Mega Deduction, and a plan to bring private capital into the operation of Canada’s four largest airports.
Where the Nearly $500 Billion in Canada Investment Summit Pledges Comes From
The commitments fall into four broad buckets. Roughly $325 billion is financing from Canada’s largest banks, close to $100 billion is new capital from pension funds and insurers, more than $14 billion comes from private investment funds, and a single corporate announcement in Saskatchewan accounts for another $52.5 billion.
| Source of capital | Amount announced | Stated focus |
|---|---|---|
| Canada’s largest banks | Nearly $325 billion | Financing for businesses and infrastructure |
| Pension funds, insurers, institutional investors | Nearly $100 billion | New capital deployed into Canadian assets |
| Investment funds | More than $14 billion | Infrastructure, AI scale-ups, strategic sectors |
| Bell Canada AI infrastructure hub | $52.5 billion | 1.2-gigawatt AI hub in Saskatchewan |
These are announcements of intent rather than closed transactions, and the timelines attached to them range from five to ten years. That distinction matters when reading the total, and we return to it below.
The $325 Billion in Bank Financing, Institution by Institution
The single largest pledge came from TD Bank, which said it would provide $150 billion in financing over five years across energy, critical minerals and resources, defence and aerospace, digital and AI, and infrastructure. Scotiabank followed with more than $100 billion over five years directed at Canadian companies and projects in sectors tied to the federal growth agenda.
- BMO: $70 billion invested and mobilised over 10 years in energy and transportation infrastructure, mining and critical minerals, AI computing, and defence and security.
- CIBC: $2 billion in financing for small and medium-sized defence-related and dual-use businesses, spanning infrastructure, energy, cybersecurity, digital capabilities and advanced technologies.
- RBC: nearly $1.5 billion to invest in and mobilise capital for high-growth Canadian technology companies, with added commercialisation, partnership and expansion support.
Taken together, the bank pledges represent the bulk of the summit total and are structured largely as lending and capital mobilisation targets rather than direct equity stakes.
The $50 Billion Maple Fund and the Pension Sector’s Canadian Tilt
On the institutional side, CPP Investments and Brookfield Asset Management launched the $50 billion Maple Fund, targeting critical infrastructure and strategic industries across the country. PSP Investments said it would raise its Canadian holdings by 30 to 40 per cent, an additional $25 billion that would bring its domestic total to $100 billion.
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan committed an extra $10 billion to Canadian opportunities across public and private markets by the end of 2027, while Sun Life Financial pledged $5 billion over five years to critical infrastructure including digital technology, energy and transportation. Two investment managers rounded out the group: Power Sustainable with more than $10 billion for power and grid, fibre and data, environmental solutions and food supply chains, and Radical Ventures with $4 billion for the Radical Breakouts Fund, described as the largest venture capital fund of its kind in Canadian history and aimed at AI scale-ups.
The momentum had been building since the opening session, when the Prime Minister met the chief executives of Macquarie and Temasek in Toronto alongside other members of the investment advisory group.
Bell’s 1.2-Gigawatt AI Hub Becomes Saskatchewan’s Largest Capital Project
Announced on the margins of the summit, Bell Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan unveiled an expansion of the Bell AI Fabric to build a 1.2-gigawatt artificial intelligence infrastructure hub in the province. The $52.5 billion capital investment is the largest in Saskatchewan’s history and is expected to create more than 4,500 jobs across construction, operations, management and related services.
The project underscores how much of the summit’s total is tied to compute and energy capacity rather than traditional manufacturing or resource extraction, placing Canada’s power grid squarely at the centre of its AI ambitions.
The Productivity Mega Deduction Cuts the Effective Tax Rate to 6.4%
The most consequential policy announcement of the two days was the Productivity Mega Deduction, which allows businesses to deduct the cost of a much broader range of assets immediately. The eligible list includes fibre-optic cable, mining property, oil and gas pipelines, software, research and development, computer equipment, aircraft and vehicles, patents, rail track, bridges and roads.
Ottawa is also making immediate expensing permanent so companies recover costs sooner. According to the government, the combined effect will lower Canada’s marginal effective tax rate on new business investment from roughly 13 per cent to 6.4 per cent — a level it describes as the lowest of any major economy and less than half the current United States rate.
The competitiveness framing lands at a moment when cross-border policy remains unsettled. Carney has been working through a parallel negotiating track in which he recently said Canada’s red lines in trade talks with Washington are now clear.
Private Concessions for Canada’s Four Largest Airports
Carney also announced that Canada will seek private investment through long-term concessions to operate the country’s four largest airports. The federal government said it will retain ownership of the underlying land and assets while working with airport authorities, airlines and local governments on the structure.
Proceeds — described as tens of billions of dollars — would be reinvested in regional airports, local transportation infrastructure and nation-building projects, including a sovereign broadband backbone connecting the country coast to coast to coast. The airports reform builds on commitments set out in Budget 2025 and the Spring Economic Update 2026 to lower air passenger costs and open airports to private capital through alternative ownership models. The four airports involved were not named in the announcement.
$700 Million for Defence Tech and $140 Million for the Marathon Project
Two direct federal investments were attached to the summit. Through the Business Development Bank of Canada, Ottawa will deploy $700 million to accelerate growth in Canadian defence and dual-use technologies — $500 million across specialised investment funds and $200 million for StrongNorth, lifting that fund from $300 million to $500 million. Both sit within BDC’s broader $6 billion Defence Platform.
Separately, the Canada Growth Fund committed approximately $140 million to Generation Mining’s Marathon Project in Northwestern Ontario, one of the country’s few fully permitted, shovel-ready critical minerals projects. The site will produce copper and palladium, which the government framed as strengthening domestic supply and North American supply chain resilience.
Reading the Headline Figure: Loans, Funds and Intentions Are Not the Same Thing
The nearly $500 billion total blends several categories of capital with very different degrees of certainty. Bank pledges are financing capacity that depends on borrowers coming forward with bankable projects. Pension allocations are firmer but are spread across multi-year windows and public as well as private markets. Corporate announcements such as the Saskatchewan AI hub are capital plans subject to permitting, power supply agreements and construction schedules.
The government’s own framing acknowledges the layered nature of the numbers: over five years, federal capital investments and incentives supporting third parties are expected to help enable more than $1 trillion in total investment from public, private and institutional partners. That is an enabling target, not money already committed.
A separate $500 billion figure also appears in the release and should not be double-counted with the summit total. Since September 2025, the government has referred 27 nation-building initiatives — ports, mines and energy corridors from every region — to the Major Projects Office, representing $500 billion in potential private investment.
What Carney, Graham and Orida Said in Toronto
Carney’s closing message was a direct pitch: “Canada is building big. Build with us,” he said, adding that the summit had unleashed nearly $500 billion into Canadian businesses and infrastructure and that the government was “just getting started.”
CPP Investments President and CEO John Graham was more measured on what the two days actually settled, saying the real measure of the summit will be what happens next and that the relationships built there need to translate into meaningful investment. PSP Investments President and CEO Deborah K. Orida said Canadian business leaders and global investors had “answered the call” and that a solid foundation was now in place to capitalise on.
The Economic Case Ottawa Put in Front of Global Investors
The government supported its pitch with a set of comparative claims: a AAA credit rating, the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7, and the top G7 ranking for banking stability. It said foreign direct investment in Canada is at its highest level in two decades and running at twice the rate of its nearest G7 competitor, and that Canada is creating jobs at four times the rate of the United States.
Ottawa also pointed to 16 free trade agreements across 51 countries covering 1.5 billion consumers and two thirds of global GDP, with a stated plan to double that market access over the next six months through new deals from ASEAN to India. It described a $140 billion quantum opportunity and an AI sector adding jobs faster than in the United States, and said Canada ranks as the most attractive country in the world for infrastructure investment.
How much of this reaches balance sheets will show up gradually in lending data, project filings and market performance. Investors watching the domestic read-through have already had a volatile few months, with the Canadian dollar’s rally pausing as tariff risks resurfaced.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the nearly $500 billion money that has already been spent?
No. It is a total of newly announced commitments, financing targets and capital plans, most of which run over five- to ten-year horizons and depend on projects, borrowers and approvals materialising.
Does the $500 billion tied to the Major Projects Office count toward the summit total?
They are presented as separate figures. The 27 nation-building initiatives referred since September 2025 represent $500 billion in potential private investment and are distinct from the nearly $500 billion announced at the summit.
Which airports are covered by the private concession plan?
The announcement refers to Canada’s four largest airports but does not name them. The federal government says it will retain ownership of the underlying land and assets under any concession model.
What assets qualify for the Productivity Mega Deduction?
The government listed fibre-optic cable, mining property, oil and gas pipelines, software, research and development, computer equipment, aircraft and vehicles, patents, rail track, bridges and roads. Full legislative details were not specified in the announcement.
Who hosted the summit alongside the federal government?
CPP Investments and PSP Investments co-hosted the two-day event, which brought together investors from nearly 30 countries managing more than $100 trillion in assets.
