Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Canada Investment Summit Adds Nearly $500B in Commitments
September 15, 2026 | NCFA Insight | Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure, Competition And Market Structure, Public Sector Policy And Industrial Strategy
Nearly $500B In Commitments And A Proposed 6.4% Investment Tax Rate
Today, on September 15, 2026, Canada's first Canada Investment Summit 2026 commitments reached nearly $500 billion across Canadian pension funds, insurers, banks, investment funds and a major AI infrastructure project. The September 14–15 summit in Toronto also brought together investors from nearly 30 countries managing more than $100 trillion in assets.
The $500 billion isn't one pool of foreign equity. It combines institutional investment, bank financing and capital mobilization, investment funds and corporate infrastructure spending. A large share comes from Canadian institutions putting more capital to work at home while Ottawa tries to attract additional global investment.
Canadian Institutions Supply Much Of The Capital
- Canadian pension funds, insurers and other institutional investors committed nearly $100 billion
- CPP Investments and Brookfield Asset Management launched the $50 billion Maple Fund for Canadian critical infrastructure and strategic industries
- PSP Investments plans another $25 billion of Canadian investment
- Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan committed an additional $10 billion by the end of 2027
- Sun Life Financial committed $5 billion over five years for infrastructure including digital technology, energy and transportation
- Banks account for the largest share. TD committed $150 billion in financing over five years across energy, critical minerals and resources, defence and aerospace, digital and AI, and infrastructure
- Scotiabank committed more than $100 billion
- BMO up to $70 billion
- CIBC $2 billion for defence-related and dual-use small and medium-sized businesses
- RBC nearly $1.5 billion for high-growth Canadian technology companies
These commitments work in different ways. Bank financing, pension investment, venture capital and corporate spending support different types of projects and companies. Together, they give Canadian businesses and infrastructure projects more ways to access capital.
See: Canada Has C$500B in Private Credit Exposure, But Little at Home
Canadian institutions already invest a lot of money outside Canada. The Bank of Canada recently estimated that pension funds, insurers, investment funds and banks have about C$500 billion invested in private credit, much of it abroad. The summit is trying to put more of that Canadian capital to work at home.
Investment funds added more than $14 billion. Power Sustainable committed to invest and mobilize more than $10 billion for infrastructure including power, grids, fibre, data and food supply chains. Radical Ventures plans to invest and mobilize $4 billion through its new Radical Breakouts Fund for Canadian AI scaleups.
Bell Canada and Saskatchewan also announced an AI infrastructure project of up to $52.5 billion. The proposed 1.2-gigawatt AI hub is expected to create more than 4,500 jobs across construction, operations, management and related services.
Ottawa Is Cutting The Tax Cost Of New Investment
Another September 15 announcement lowers the tax cost of making new business investments. Ottawa's proposed Productivity Mega Deduction would let businesses write off roughly two-thirds of eligible capital investments right away, up from about 15% under the earlier Productivity Super-Deduction.
Most qualifying assets bought on or after September 15, 2026 would be covered. That includes software, computers, fibre-optic cable, mining property, certain pipelines, aircraft, vehicles, patents, rail track, bridges and roads. Most buildings, goodwill and some vehicles would remain outside the main rules or receive different treatment.
Finance Canada estimates the change would cut Canada's effective tax rate on new business investment to 6.4% (from 13.0%). For comparison, it estimates the U.S. rate at 16.9% and the OECD average excluding Canada at 19.0%.
This isn't just an incentive for foreign investors. Canadian and international companies could both benefit when they make qualifying investments in Canada.
The federal government estimates the measure would reduce tax revenue by $36 billion over five years. Finance Canada also estimates that about $8.5 billion a year in investment support could eventually generate up to roughly $22 billion in additional annual economic activity. The final impact will be based on how much new investment follows and whether it lifts output and productivity.
The Canada Revenue Agency has also begun prioritizing advance tax rulings for proposed Canadian investments of $1 billion or more. Investors can seek binding tax treatment before committing capital, reducing one source of uncertainty on large projects.
Canada Needs The Capital To Show Up In Productivity
Statistics Canada productivity research found investment per worker in 2022 was nearly 20% below its 2014 level. Real non-residential business investment in early 2024 was still 22% below its peak a decade earlier, and weak capital investment has been a major contributor to slower labour-productivity growth.
See: Fintech's Role in Canada's Productivity Revival
The latest business surveys are more encouraging. Bank of Canada survey data show 43% of firms in the second quarter of 2026 identified improving productivity as an investment objective, up from 31% a year earlier. Equipment upgrades, technology adoption and AI investment give companies ways to convert financing into higher output rather than simply expanding balance sheets.
Foreign capital is also rising. Statistics Canada recorded $96.8 billion of foreign direct investment into Canada in 2025, the highest annual level since 2007. In the second quarter of 2026, inward direct investment reached $25.9 billion, up from $18.8 billion in the first quarter. Manufacturing attracted $7.0 billion and finance and insurance $6.6 billion.
Canada now has more domestic capital earmarked for Canadian assets at the same time that foreign direct investment is rising. Domestic institutions can finance assets and companies through longer investment cycles, while foreign capital adds outside balance sheets, customers, expertise and international connections.
Trade pressure adds another reason to build more productive capacity at home. Canadian companies looking beyond the United States still need capital for technology, production, regulatory work, new customers and foreign operations. Stronger financing at home gives more firms the option to build those capabilities from Canada rather than moving capital-intensive parts of their growth elsewhere. See: Budget 2025 Accelerates Fintech, AI, and Capital Growth
Video: CBC News coverage of Canada’s first Investment Summit, where nearly $500 billion in new investment commitments were announced.
The Scorecard Is Projects, Productivity And Company Scale
For Canadian founders, the most accessible commitments are much smaller than the $500 billion headline. Radical Ventures' $4 billion AI fund, RBC's nearly $1.5 billion technology commitment and CIBC's $2 billion defence and dual-use program can reach companies below major infrastructure scale. Pension and bank commitments can finance the data centres, energy systems, digital infrastructure and customers around them.
See: Can Canadian Fintechs Diversify Beyond The U.S. Faster?
Canada has plenty of capital on paper. It now needs to move the needle in funded projects, higher investment per worker, productive technology adoption, export capacity and Canadian companies reaching larger scale.
$500 billion gives Canada a large starting balance. How much is actually deployed, where it goes and what it produces will determine whether the summit becomes a capital-formation milestone or a very large collection of commitments.
Talking Point
Can Canada turn nearly $500 billion of new capital commitments and a proposed 6.4% investment tax rate into measurably higher productive investment, larger Canadian companies and stronger domestic and foreign capital flows?
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