Canada ‘taking control of its future,’ Carney tells business leaders

Toronto: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stressed that a new consensus has emerged across the country regarding its economic transformation and future direction, ahead of the inaugural Canada Investment Summit.

Addressing Canadian business leaders at a welcome reception on Sunday evening, Carney said that this consensus is that “Canada is taking control of our future.”

“We will build more, we will trade more with each other, we will trade more with the world, and we will create sustainable prosperity here at home,” Carney said.

“We are defining an era for Canada. This fundamental conviction of Canada: unity, not uniformity. We believe our differences are our strength and cultivate them on this risk-taking journey,” he said.

“We have what the world wants: the energy, the resources, the talent, the technology, the capital-and our greatest strength is something that can’t be found on any balance sheet: trust,” Carney noted. “Together, we can give ourselves far more than anyone could ever take away.”

The inaugural Canada Investment Summit will take place on September 14-15 in Toronto, Canada’s largest city. As a key strategic initiative to attract major capital investments, the summit aims to bring in up to 1 trillion Canadian dollars ($720 billion) in total investments over the next five years, Xinhua news agency reported.

The summit will showcase Canada’s “Deal Book,” featuring key projects across energy, critical minerals, advanced technologies and major infrastructure. It aims to bridge global capital with major Canadian projects to strengthen domestic supply chain resilience, boost productivity and reduce economic reliance on the United States.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump has ordered bans on a broad range of Canadian alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorcycles as his administration escalated its trade confrontation with Canada.

The import bans will take effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on September 29, according to a series of White House proclamations. Canadian goods imported before that date but not cleared for consumption will remain subject to the existing 50 per cent duty.

A senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday (local time) that the measures were designed to counter Canadian retaliation, protect American production and restore what the White House considers a level playing field.

The official said the import bans would affect Canadian trade valued in the “single-digit billions”. Changes to the existing tariff list would not significantly alter the roughly $20 billion in trade covered by those duties.

IANS