A coalition of labour advocates, Indigenous leaders and civil society groups gathered outside Toronto city hall Monday to protest the opening of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Canada Investment Summit, arguing the event risks handing over public infrastructure to private investors.
The two-day summit, held Monday and Tuesday in Toronto, has drawn more than 100 of the world’s largest investors as Carney seeks to secure roughly $1 trillion in investment across some 167 projects nationwide over the next five years. The event comes as Canada looks to diversify its economic partnerships amid an ongoing trade dispute with the United States.
Organizers of the “Many vs. The Money” demonstration held a press conference at Nathan Phillips Square ahead of a larger protest planned for the evening, which was expected to draw thousands of participants marching from city hall toward a gala dinner at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Toronto police confirmed they were aware of the demonstration and closed sections of Dundas Street West, Beverley Street and McCaul Street, with rolling closures also planned along Dundas Street West between Spadina and University avenues. Police said any criminal activity during the protest would result in arrests, while affirming a right to peaceful demonstration.
Concerns Over Privatization
Rachel Small, an organizer with World Beyond War, said the summit amounts to an auction of Canadian public resources, including airports, highways, water and power infrastructure, with public money covering financial risk while private investors capture the returns. She argued that Canadians already face affordability pressures around rent and cost of living, and said the summit does not direct investment toward priorities like education, transit or health care.
Protest organizers also invoked the Walkerton water crisis, a case in which a public inquiry found that privatization of water testing under the Mike Harris provincial government contributed to an E. coli outbreak that killed seven people and sickened thousands.
Wet’suwet’en Nation Hereditary Chief Na’Moks spoke against what he described as public dependence being used to justify large-scale resource projects, and raised concerns about the environmental impact of investment decisions being made without input from affected communities. Nik Barry-Shaw, a trade and privatization campaigner with the Council of Canadians, referenced comments Carney made earlier this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos about being “at the table” versus “on the menu,” suggesting that civil society groups had been excluded from summit discussions.
Provincial and Expert Reaction
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a statement that he welcomes foreign investment, pointing to 15 major projects in the province worth tens of billions of dollars, spanning mining, energy production and artificial intelligence, that are set to be discussed at the summit. Ford said the province is aiming to build an economy that can compete internationally.
Jeff Mahon, director for geopolitical and international business at consulting firm StrategyCorp, told CBC Radio that concerns over foreign investment are not new, noting that Canada’s Investment Canada Act already requires deals to be reviewed for net benefit, including effects on jobs and economic competitiveness. Mahon said the ongoing trade tension with the United States is a driving factor behind the summit, arguing that reduced U.S. market access undermines investment confidence in Canada and that inbound investment supports future economic activity and growth.
Neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor Invest in Canada, the federal foreign direct investment agency helping organize the summit, responded to requests for comment from the Toronto Star. CBC Toronto said it had reached out to Environment and Climate Change Canada for comment as well.
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