Canada Must Rely on Itself for Investment
Prime Minister Mark Carney has been traveling the world to sell Canada as a wise place to invest. He's made this pitch in various countries, including New York, Davos, and Saudi Arabia. This week, he brought many of the world's largest investors to Toronto for the Canada Investment Summit.
The summit could be a catalyst for change, but for it to be truly successful, it should be the last investment summit the government needs to lead. Canada's economy cannot rely on a prime minister to curate investment opportunities one meeting at a time.
According to analysis from the Canadian Chamber's Business Data Lab, Canadian direct investment abroad has been outpacing foreign investment in Canada since around 2015. This means that Canada is currently exporting significantly more investment capital than it attracts.
The current economic landscape is not sending a message to rest on laurels. To reverse these trends, we need to provide confidence in Canada and spend some of our own money on investments.