From investment buzz to building: Canada’s major projects face hurdles, experts say

OTTAWA — Canada’s inaugural investment summit has created a buzz that the country is open for business, but experts say the real test will be whether that momentum can translate into major projects that overcome labour shortages, community concerns, environmental hurdles and lengthy approvals.

The two-day summit in Toronto included a flurry of multi-billion dollar funding announcements that Ottawa says are part of its broader goal of attracting $1 trillion in total investment in Canada over five years.

Patrick Leblond, University of Ottawa associate professor of public and international affairs, says the investor momentum sparked by the summit is critical to reducing the perceived risk of investing in large-scale projects in Canada.

He says even if some of the investments would have happened anyway, the buzz attracts additional capital and signals to the world that Canada is a compelling investment destination.

However, Leblond says projects can stall for years without local community and Indigenous support, an adequate workforce and a streamlined regulatory process, causing investors to lose interest.

Rachel Samson, vice-president of research at the Institute for Research on Public Policy, says measures like the productivity mega deduction tax policy and the streamlined regulatory approach of “one project, one review, one year” make Canada attractive to investors.

“It shows that projects won’t be bogged down the way that perhaps they once were,” she said. “But we do have to prove that it works. It’s not enough to have a flashy brochure, you really have to show that the investments can be done in the way that they’re being pitched.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2026.

Brett Bundale, The Canadian Press