Some of Canada’s largest financial institutions and pension funds are committing billions of dollars in new investment and financing toward the domestic economy, days before Prime Minister Mark Carney hosts a major investment summit in Toronto.
Bank of Montreal said Friday it will deploy up to $70-billion in new capital over the next 10 years toward sectors it considers critical to Canada’s economy. The bank said the plan is designed to bolster the country’s economic security and resilience, with a focus on electricity, energy and transportation infrastructure, mining and critical minerals, AI computing, defence and security, and oil and gas. BMO said the capital would be delivered through bank financing, debt capital markets activity and the raising of public equity.
BMO chief executive officer Darryl White said foreign investors are drawn to projects they can enter quickly and that offer strong returns. He said Canada has shifted toward a more welcoming stance for business and development, which he said is now attracting more foreign direct investment into the country.
The announcements come ahead of the inaugural Canada Investment Summit, set to bring hundreds of top financial-sector executives to Toronto next week. The event is being organized by Carney along with two Canadian pension funds, as part of an effort to draw more foreign capital into Canada. The push follows a year of pressure on the country’s largest banks to expand lending to small and medium-sized businesses, and on pension funds to increase their domestic investments.
Pension funds have said they want to do more within Canada, while also stressing their obligation to pursue the best possible returns for plan members wherever those opportunities exist.
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan said Friday it plans to add $10-billion in new Canadian investment by the end of 2027, growing its existing $100-billion domestic portfolio. The $303-billion fund said the additional capital would go toward both public equities and private assets that meet its return targets, potentially including funding to help Canadian companies expand and support for infrastructure projects. CEO Jo Taylor said the fund has already added roughly $1.5-billion in Canadian assets over the past several months. Taylor said international investors attending the summit will be looking to assess the confidence shown by domestic investors, adding that Teachers intends to continue investing in Canada.
Earlier in the week, the $321-billion Public Sector Pension Investment Board said it aims to raise its Canadian holdings by about a third, from $72.4-billion to $100-billion, over the coming years. In April, the $152-billion Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System became the first major pension investor to commit to at least $10-billion in new domestic investment over five years.
Sun Life Financial also unveiled an infrastructure investment initiative Friday, aiming to deploy $5-billion over five years toward what the company described as efforts to support Canada’s economic growth and resilience while delivering long-term returns. The initiative will target critical infrastructure areas including digital technology, energy, and transportation and logistics. Sun Life CEO Kevin Strain said the commitment reflects the company’s view that a stronger, more competitive Canada benefits everyone.
Other financial institutions have made similar moves in recent weeks. Royal Bank of Canada earlier this month launched a $1.4-billion fund to invest in Canadian technology companies, including aerospace and dual-use defence firms whose products serve both military and civilian purposes. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has committed $2-billion over five years to small and medium-sized defence-related and dual-use businesses, as the federal government increases military spending. Bank of Nova Scotia has said it plans to issue Canadian defence bonds to help raise capital for companies in the sector.
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