Carney details plans to open Canada’s four largest airports up for private investment

Canada is opening up its four largest airports to private investment, Prime Minister Mark Carney said.

He made the announcement in a speech to kick off the first full day of the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto, a gathering of global and domestic investors and CEOs.

Mr. Carney said the government will retain ownership of the underlying land and assets, but seek private investment through long-term concessions that will bring new capital and expertise for airport operations and growth.

Canada’s four largest airports are Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto.

He said the capital raised through private investors will be reinvested in infrastructure, including regional airports.

“It will mean a better passenger experience,” he said, according to prepared remarks.

“It will mean investing in new local transportation infrastructure to make commutes easier and faster for everyday Canadians.”

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Mr. Carney said the money raised will also help finance new projects, including “a sovereign broadband backbone.”

The government had signalled in its 2025 budget that it would “consider options for the privatization of airports,” and revisited the issue in the spring economic update with few details.

The bill to implement elements of that update contained new measures that give the government more power to obtain financial information from airports.

The airports were not mentioned in a 66-page “prospectus” booklet circulated among summit participants. The event began on Monday.

In his remarks, Mr. Carney said the plan for airports is an example of how Canada is shifting its approach to investment.

“We have the resources, the talent, the fiscal capacity, and access to the world’s largest pools of capital,” he said.

“Now we are matching those fundamental advantages with the speed, ambition, and execution needed to build.

Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon had briefed Liberal MPs on the airport plans in a late-day call, The Globe and Mail reported Monday.

The federal government currently delegates the management of major airports to not-for-profit airport authorities through long-term ground leases.

“Canadian pension funds already invest successfully in many airports around the world,” he said in prepared remarks.

“It is time to bring that same expertise home to more directly benefit all Canadians.”

The model being proposed by Mr. Carney appears similar to Australia, where the government maintains ownership of major airports but signs long-term leases with private-sector investors.

The Liberal government looked seriously at airport privatization a decade ago and ultimately shelved the idea.

Then-Liberal Finance Minister Bill Morneau named an advisory committee on economic growth that released a report in 2016 calling for the sale or partial sale of some federally owned assets, including airports, as a way of raising funds for other infrastructure needs.

At the time, privatization was opposed by airport authorities in Calgary, Ottawa, and Vancouver.

The 2016 economic advisory committee – under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – included Dominic Barton, Michael Sabia and Mark Wiseman. All three have worked in various roles related to large-scale investment.

Since Mr. Carney became Prime Minister, all three have been named to senior federal positions.

Mr. Barton is now the chair of Invest in Canada, a federal agency in charge of attracting foreign investment. Mr. Sabia is Clerk of the Privy Council and Mr. Wiseman is Canada’s Ambassador to the United States.