More than 1,000 demonstrators gathered in downtown Toronto on Monday to protest against an investment summit organized by Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The Canada Investment Summit, set for Monday and Tuesday in Toronto, is being hosted by Carney, who has invited over 100 of the world’s largest investors from around the world in the hopes of securing $1 trillion in investments in some 167 projects across the country over the next five years.
The prime minister is pitching Canada as a safe and reliable place for investment at a time of economic uncertainty, but some aren’t sold on outside investment yielding positive results for everyday Canadians.
Rachel Small, an organizer with World Beyond War, a non-profit that campaigns against conflict, said Canadians are struggling to afford rent and the cost of living, and need more investment in education, transit and health care.
“Carney is doing the opposite of that,” she said.
“He is selling our public resources without any guaranteed returns and at the same time growing industries that will push the world towards greater war and climate catastrophe.”
“These billionaires make decisions behind closed doors in our city to decide our futures. Our future is not for sale,” Small said.
The protesters, a diverse group that includes representatives of labour unions, Indigenous leaders and climate and housing advocates, say they reject the idea of leaving Canada’s economic future in the hands of CEOs and worry about the future of public services, pipelines and arms manufacturing.
On Monday evening, protesters gathered first in Nathan Phillips Square, then marched to a police barrier near the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), where the summit’s opening gala that was closed to the public and the media was being held. The crowd grew in size as it made its way to the AGO.
Between 200 and 300 Toronto police officers were estimated to be in the area of the AGO to prevent protesters from breaking through the barricade.
Monday’s assembly of speakers gathered under the banner “The Many vs. The Money,” arguing the summit is designed to “auction off” Canadian public resources, according to its website.
The crowd chanted, drummed and waved signs that urged investments in people, health care and the environment.
AI spending, environmental impact, sovereignty among concerns
“We’re here today because we represent young workers who want good jobs and a livable future,” said Hailey Asquin of the group Common Horizon.
Asquin said her peers are not against investments but are concerned about spending on artificial intelligence, the military and fossil fuels.
“We want to be part of building a Canada that we can be proud of, one that is a superpower in things like renewable energy and health care,” she said.
Tom Deadman, a teacher from Ottawa, said he takes issue with Carney inviting executives from American companies in the midst of a trade war with the United States.
“Our concern is that he is basically giving away massive parts of our public services to American CEOs,” he said.
Kakeka ThunderSky, a member of Poplar River First Nation, travelled from Winnipeg to join the protest out of concern about fast-tracked environmental assessments and government policies that affect First Nations’ land.
“I came here … to confront Carney’s CEO summit to let them know that our lands and our resources are not on the chopping block for their profit and their benefit,” ThunderSky said.
National sovereignty and the impact of various projects on the environment was also a prominent concern throughout the speeches.
“Everybody worries about their own backyard. Our front yard is this entire planet and we must stand together to protect it.” said Wet’suwet’en Nation Hereditary Chief Na’Moks.
“They’re taking everything we survive on and are willing to sell it to foreign investors.”
‘We would never compromise our national security’: Joly
Federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, asked if the Canadian government is selling off Canada to foreign interests through the summit, said: “We would never do that. Why? Because, fundamentally, we always would work for Canadians and be able also to deliver for Canadians.
“My job as minister of industry is to protect Canada’s interests through the Investment Canada Act,” Joly added.
“Of course, we would never compromise our national security but fundamentally we are 42 million people and we don’t have enough capital to develop all of our companies and also to develop all of the infrastructure projects we need to develop the potential of this country.
“So that’s why, like many other countries on Earth, we need to attract more foreign capital.”
Joly said a successful summit would result in “good deals” and memorandums of understanding to show intent to do more deals. She said the government will see the impacts of the summit in three months to a year.
Hundreds of deep-pocketed investors have descended on Toronto for the first-of-its-kind summit. CBC’s Clara Pasieka breaks down Prime Minister Mark Carney’s pitch — and the pushback from critics.
Meanwhile, speaker Nik Barry-Shaw, trade and privatization campaigner for the Council of Canadians, which advocates for clean water, green energy and fair trade, referenced the prime minister’s speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January when he said: “If we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.”
“I’ve been looking around the table that Carney has set for this summer and I don’t see any of us at the table,” he said. “Does that mean we’re on the menu?”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a statement Sunday that he welcomes foreign investment, noting 15 major projects in the province “worth tens of billions of dollars” are set to be discussed. They range from mining to energy production and AI.
“We are building an economy that can compete with anyone, anywhere,” he said in the statement. “That’s going to be my message throughout the Canada Investment Summit.”
“Ontario has what the world needs and we’re going to make sure the world knows it.”
Concerns over foreign investment not new: expert
Jeff Mahon, director for geopolitical and international business at consulting firm StrategyCorp., told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning earlier on Monday that concerns over foreign investment are not new, and pointed to Canada’s Investment Canada Act, which reviews deals for their net benefit and impact on jobs and economic competitiveness.
“Foreign investment is really important for the Canadian economy, but there’s always going to be some considerations on whether the owner or type of investment will lead to some challenges down the line,” he said.
Mahon said Canada’s trade war with the U.S. is “definitely” a catalyst for the initiative, and understands the push to drive more outside funding.
“When the U.S. shuts down market access or threatens market access, that undermines investment confidence in Canada,” he said. “If we don’t have investment coming in then that means future economic activity is inhibited, it’s going to be undermined.”
“Those investment dollars lead to productive investment … that means future economic growth could be higher.”
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