Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has cast Canada as a "safe harbour" for global investors, using an investment summit in Toronto to court more than 100 major financiers as he seeks to reduce the country's economic dependence on the United States. The event, attended by figures such as BlackRock's Larry Fink and Blackstone's Jon Gray, forms part of Carney's pledge to attract C$1tn (£530bn) in investment over five years, and comes as Canada's ongoing trade dispute with Washington pushes it to deepen ties with Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Investors at the summit, representing more than C$120tn in assets, were shown over 160 potential projects spanning data centres, pipelines and port expansions, alongside new tax incentives and promises of faster project approvals with a one-year review target. A headline announcement was a plan to open Canada's four largest airports, in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary, to private investment while keeping land and assets under federal ownership, a move welcomed by business but criticised by unions and campaigners as "country selling". Carney's office said the summit had already generated close to C$500bn in new investment commitments across infrastructure, technology, energy and defence, with AI data centres cited as an area of particular interest.