Canada Investment Summit live: Banks commit billions

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Canada Investment Summit in Toronto has entered its second day, as the government looks to drum up billions in commitments to jumpstart the economy.

Fund managers controlling upwards of $120 trillion in assets have travelled from as far abroad as Australia and Singapore, as well as from the United States. They are here to evaluate infrastructure projects such as pipelines, ports and transportation networks and explore opportunities in Canada’s resource sector, from energy to critical minerals.

The summit formally kicked off with a gala dinner Monday night in Toronto. Earlier in the day, we saw major commitments from Canadian banks and a prioritized tax ruling from the Canada Revenue Agency.

Tuesday’s agenda includes a series of fireside chats and panel discussions with Canadian financial leaders and private one-on-one meetings where discussions of private mandates can take place.

Here’s the latest news from the Canada Investment Summit:

Toronto-Dominion Bank and the Bank of Scotia have joined the other big Canadian banks in committing to deploy billions of dollars in the next five years into sectors critical for the Canadian economy.

TD has committed $150 billion with a focus on energy, critical minerals, defence, artificial intelligence and infrastructure.

“Canada is entering a defining period of investment and industrial growth that will shape the country’s economy for decades to come,” chief executive Raymond Chun said in a statement on Monday. “TD will connect investors with opportunity, help businesses scale and strengthen the sectors critical to Canada’s next era of growth.”

Scotiabank is committing $100 billion to similar sectors and is launching an institute to help policymakers, business leaders and markets decide what’s best for Canada’s competitiveness.

Carney says trade deal with U.S. still possible

In an interview with Bloomberg News at the Canada Investment Summit, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he is not going to slow down expanding trade with other nations, but that a deal with the United States is still possible.

Negotiations fell apart last month, with both sides pointing the finger when it comes to who’s to blame.

The U.S. has since upped tariffs on Canada to as much as 50 per cent and Canada has responded in kind with dollar-for-dollar tariffs of their own.

“We’ll sit down when it makes sense,” Carney said. “Canada and the U.S. have a very long relationship. We sometimes go through periods where there are tensions in that relationship. Provided we continue this approach, we’ll come to some agreement at some point.”

With files from Barbara Shecter, Naimul Karim and Bloomberg News