Canada unfazed by U.S. competition for infrastructure funds

Canada is not worried about competing with the United States to draw private investment in infrastructure, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday, adding that the country’s long-term stability is attractive to investors.

Canada’s government said this month it would set up an infrastructure bank and give it access to C$35 billion ($26 billion) to help fund major projects. It is also engaged in a charm offensive to attract private investors.

However, it faces competition from the United States with President-elect Donald Trump planning $1 trillion of infrastructure spending, relying entirely on investment from the private sector.

“I’m not worried about competing,” Trudeau said. “What I’m worried about is highlighting and putting forward the best possible understanding for people of the ease of doing business in Canada, the long-term growth potential here in Canada, the extraordinarily positive and educated workforce.”

Trudeau said, in conversations with international investors, he had contrasted the mindset of Canadians with rising nationalism elsewhere.

“People are curious to try and understand in a world where there’s a lot of anxiety and populism – whether it’s Brexit, the nationalists in Europe or even the election of the Republican candidate in the United States,” Trudeau said.

“They are interested in knowing why Canada remains more open, remains more positive towards refugees and immigration. It’s our reasonableness, and thoughtfulness in our approach to politics that seems to them (international investors) a good predictor of long-term stability for this country,” he added. Read more…