upcoming Monday event...

"We clearly need to add private capital to the public pot of money, given the deficit we have…in terms of our infrastructure.

http://www.bnn.ca/trudeau-to-host-summit-with-world-s-leading-investors-1.604720

Less than a week after Donald Trump’s surprise U.S. presidential victory, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to host a group of the world’s leading investors to raise awareness around investing opportunities in Canada.

BNN has learned new details of the Canadian government’s plan to oversee an investor summit in Toronto on Monday. The event will include BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager, and its clients -- including public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, central banks and insurance companies, representing more than $21 trillion in assets. BNN has also learned at least seven Cabinet ministers will be in attendance, including Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Other portfolios being represented include trade, innovation, infrastructure, and natural resources.

“It’s an opportunity to bring investors to Canada to meet some of the people in government, meet other business people and say this is really a great place to be able to invest,” Dominic Barton, managing director of McKinsey and chairman of Morneau’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth, told BNN in a recent television interview.

Last month, the council made preliminary recommendations on ways to stimulate Canada’s economy. They included a call to create an agency with a mandate to boost foreign direct investment in Canada. During Morneau’s fall economic update on Nov. 1, he announced the government’s plan to spend $218 million over five years to create a so-called Invest in Canada Hub to attract more foreign investment.

While the federal government will spend billions of dollars on infrastructure projects in a bid to improve Canada’s economic outlook in the years to come, observers say private industry partners are a must.

“We clearly need to add private capital to the public pot of money, given the deficit we have…in terms of our infrastructure. That pot needs to be bigger,” Paul Taylor, chief investment officer of Asset Allocation at BMO Global Asset Management, told BNN in an interview.

“The event will showcase Canada as a great place to invest in startups, to invest in R&D … to invest in infrastructure, there’s a lot of things. We’ve got to be on the map and we are not,” Barton told BNN. “There are some very good people in trade but we need to scale it up and market ourselves.”

All told, BlackRock is expected to bring two dozen clients from around the world, to help shed light on Canada’s investment landscape.

“With a sound financial system, a vibrant and innovative economy, and a proactive approach to long-term fiscal policy, we view Canada as a compelling investment opportunity,” BlackRock told BNN in a statement. “We’re pleased to join the Canadian Government in highlighting the breadth of investments available for our clients.”

Cabinet ministers joining Morneau at the event will include: Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr, Minister of Innovation Navdeep Bains, Minister of Infrastructure Amarjeet Sohi, Minister Of Canadian Heritage Melanie Joly, and Minister of Health Jane Philpott.

As Prime Minister Trudeau helps showcase Canada, he’ll also be busy navigating the country’s new relationship with the next U.S. president. “I’ve just spoken with President-elect Trump – and we agreed to meet soon to keep building the Canada-US relationship” Trudeau tweeted Wednesday night.