Canada Investment Summit 2026: what Mark Carney announced in Toronto

Canada's first Canada Investment Summit is taking place in Toronto on September 14 and 15, 2026. The federal government is targeting more than $1 trillion of investment in Canada over the next five years, with about $280 billion in government capital and incentives expected to help catalyse the larger total.

The headline target is not a cheque from Ottawa. It is a goal for investment across companies, banks, pension funds and other institutions. The first wave of announcements shows how the plan is meant to work: projects provide something to build, financial institutions provide financing capacity, and governments try to reduce delays and project costs.

Bell's Saskatchewan AI expansion is the clearest new project

Bell and Saskatchewan announced a non-binding memorandum of understanding for a much larger AI Fabric project near Regina. Bell describes a path from its existing 300 megawatts of computing capacity to as much as 1.2 gigawatts, adding up to 900 MW if the expansion proceeds.

The proposed full buildout could represent more than $50 billion in capital investment, according to the announcement around the summit. That figure describes the potential project, not money already spent or construction already approved.

The expansion still depends on customer commitments, commercial agreements, permits, environmental assessments and other approvals. Bell says the additional generation would be developed with partners, while the facilities would use closed-loop cooling rather than municipal water. The project is also intended to support sovereign AI workloads, keeping sensitive Canadian data inside Canada under Canadian law.

That distinction matters. Bell's announcement provides a large project and a possible path to build it. It does not turn the full $50-billion figure into an immediate investment commitment.

Billion-dollar projects move to the front of the CRA queue

The Canada Revenue Agency also changed the process for very large investments. Starting September 14, requests for advance income-tax rulings connected to investments of $1 billion or more receive priority.

An advance tax ruling lets a company ask the CRA how Canadian tax law will apply to a proposed transaction before it commits to the project. The new approach can reduce uncertainty for a major mine, data centre or infrastructure project that needs tax treatment settled before lenders and investors sign off.

It does not give billion-dollar investors a lower tax rate. It moves qualifying requests ahead in the ruling queue.

Banks are putting financing capacity behind the plan

TD announced a $150-billion commitment over five years for new lending, underwriting, advisory work and other financing activities. Scotiabank announced more than $100 billion over five years in financing, underwriting and investment for Canadian companies and projects.

Those numbers describe financing capacity, not $250 billion of government spending or a promise that every project will be built. A mine, power facility or data centre can combine its own capital with bank loans, bond financing and institutional investment. These commitments are designed to make more of that financing available.

BMO is targeting up to $70 billion over 10 years for sectors including electricity, transportation, mining, AI computing, defence and energy. Sun Life launched a $5-billion, five-year Canadian infrastructure commitment, including an intended $1.5 billion in infrastructure equity subject to proposed changes that would give insurers more ability to own infrastructure investments. Power Sustainable plans to invest or mobilize more than $10 billion over five years across infrastructure and Canadian businesses.

The time horizons and structures differ, so those figures should not be added together as if they represented one common pool of cash.

Manitoba is cutting a tax on eligible Churchill investment

Manitoba announced that major eligible capital investments connected with Port of Churchill Plus will be exempt from the province's 7% provincial sales tax. The proposed scope includes an energy corridor and liquefied-natural-gas facilities, Hudson Bay Railway upgrades, icebreakers or ice-class ships, and other major Churchill improvements.

Manitoba is also presenting more than $85 billion of mining, agriculture and infrastructure opportunities to investors. That is a project pipeline, not investment already secured. Removing sales tax from eligible equipment and construction spending can lower the cost of a project, but each project still needs financing, approvals and a final decision.

Investors are being shown a national project pipeline

The summit is bigger than the announcements made on stage. The official summit material describes more than 160 opportunities from across Canada, covering energy, critical minerals, ports, transportation, AI and other infrastructure.

The federal Major Projects Office tracks 27 nation-building initiatives representing more than $192 billion of potential investment and more than 330,000 jobs. Those are potential figures attached to a project pipeline. Some projects still need financing, regulatory approvals or final investment decisions, which is exactly why they are being presented to investors.

The federal strategy is trying to move Canada toward more new construction: mines, power generation, factories, ports, transportation links and data centres. Canada's energy and critical-mineral resources, electricity system, pension funds, banks and trade relationships are part of the pitch.

The test is what happens after the summit. A successful project moves from a presentation to customer commitments, permits, financing and construction. The Bell expansion is the clearest major project announcement so far. The bank commitments, faster tax rulings and provincial incentives are the conditions intended to help more projects follow.

Update note: This article was verified on September 15, 2026, using announcements and releases available through September 14. The Canada Investment Summit continues on September 15, so additional announcements may be added to this page without changing its evergreen slug.

Hero image alt text: Seven construction workers in hard hats standing together on a pale concrete field. Credit: Scott Blake / Unsplash.