Evidence of meeting #39 for International Trade in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was work.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Bloc
Alexis Deschênes Bloc Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC
One of the strategic advantages we have in Quebec is our hydroelectric power and our commitment to transitioning toward electrification. What do investors have to say about this?
Chief Executive Officer, Invest in Canada
Quebec has always been a leader in renewable electricity, specifically hydroelectricity, and this has really helped in recent years in handling companies that want to have a sustainable mandate in Canada or elsewhere in the world. It's very important. We work very closely with Quebec.
You are probably aware that we operate based on requests from the provinces. For example, if Quebec says it won't have this type of company, we won't connect it with Quebec. The work we do together truly represents a partnership between us and Investissement Québec. The situation in Quebec regarding green energy has always been something very important for companies.
Bloc
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
Thank you very much.
I'm sorry, sir. Your time is up.
Mr. McKenzie, you have five minutes.
Conservative
David McKenzie Conservative Calgary Signal Hill, AB
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'd like to thank both of our witnesses for their time and for bringing their expertise to the committee.
Mr. Kwon, you mentioned the wildfire-fighting aircraft and De Havilland. Am I correct in understanding that those aircraft are being built in Calgary?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Commercial Corporation
That is correct, sir. The majority of them are assembled there. I believe there is a wing piece coming from Victoria, but the main assembly is in Calgary.
Conservative
David McKenzie Conservative Calgary Signal Hill, AB
Sir, on behalf of Calgarians and Albertans, thank you for the work at CCC to ensure the success of that enterprise.
Ms. Broten, a long time ago, I worked for a particular government department. Foreign direct investment was part of that government department. I know that your tenure with Invest in Canada has been relatively short, but at what time did the foreign direct investment attraction exercise get rolled out of what used to be the Department of Foreign Affairs?
Chief Executive Officer, Invest in Canada
Invest in Canada came into existence about eight years ago. Maybe we were the new kid on the block to some extent. Foreign direct investment has always been a key priority of governments across the country, but at that point, in creating Invest in Canada, Canada determined we needed our own entity.
We have worked very closely—I grew up in Alberta, so I've spent a lot of time out in Alberta as well—and very collaboratively with our subnational partners. Before this role—the privilege to lead Invest in Canada—I led Nova Scotia's trade and investment organization. We really recognized that we needed a partnership with the subnational players, and I think we've established that strongly in Alberta.
Conservative
David McKenzie Conservative Calgary Signal Hill, AB
I heard some of that from my colleague.
How many people work for Invest in Canada now?
Conservative
David McKenzie Conservative Calgary Signal Hill, AB
Statistics Canada just announced that in Q1 2026—these are fairly fresh numbers—there was a $17.2-billion investment outflow. I think you were touching on the fact that your job is to bring it in, but at some level you must be concerned when it's going right back out the door. Indeed, over the last decade, two dollars exited for every dollar that came in. What problem do we have that has to be fixed in order to change that?
Chief Executive Officer, Invest in Canada
I had a chance, while answering the questions of your colleagues, to talk about how our responsibility is FDI inflow. FDI inflow is tied to our regulatory environment—our processes in Canada.
I speak to investors every day who are very excited about what is taking place in Canada with respect to streamlining investments and tackling taxation issues with the new productivity superdeduction—all of those things. Although my responsibility is not the outflow, I think we can assume that the improvements to regulatory structures and others will also impact Canadian investors who look around the world.
Conservative
David McKenzie Conservative Calgary Signal Hill, AB
In some ways, you're a bit like a waiter who has to sell the steak or the fish of the day. I have to believe that when you and your team are speaking to foreign partners who might be looking for investment opportunities around the globe and considering Canada as one possible destination, from time to time you get some rather specific feedback on why they may not choose Canada. Can you be more specific? It's my view that there's a bit of a regulatory challenge in Canada, but can you give some examples to this committee of what you've heard directly from potential investors in Canada?
Chief Executive Officer, Invest in Canada
Well, it's really important to recognize that we need to get things built in Canada, and we are seeing action by the government. I am hearing from clients around the world that that's really important to them, that we need to streamline regulation. I myself was in a provincial government and have done a lot of regulatory reform. We can't have processes that sit upon processes. The work to streamline regulatory improvements.... Investors and companies are not opposed to being good citizens and adhering to regulation, but they want to understand how to get from point A to point B, how long it's going to take and how many steps there will be.
All of the efforts being made to streamline that are really improving our value proposition that we are able to speak to investors around the world about.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
Thank you very much, Mr. McKenzie. I'm sorry. I have to keep everybody really tight. You have 24 seconds remaining.
Conservative
David McKenzie Conservative Calgary Signal Hill, AB
Thank you.
The Major Projects Office doesn't fix some of the significant regulatory problems we have. It creates an express lane around the problems. Have you gotten that feedback? There's no certainty in a major projects office. One has to go on bended knee and ask for permission, as opposed to knowing the rules and the framework from the outset. It sounds to me like the feedback you've gotten is that investors would rather know the framework ahead of time.
Chief Executive Officer, Invest in Canada
Investors want to know the framework and want to understand the pathway, but they are also very pleased with the establishment of the Major Projects Office and the positive impacts it will have.
Liberal
Liberal
Peter Fonseca Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Broten and Mr. Kwon. I will continue on that line of questioning.
We are hyperfocused on building one Canadian economy. What does that mean? It means that when an investor is looking to Canada, it is seamless. It is a one-stop shop, and they're able to invest.
We have some ambitious goals. We're talking about $1 trillion in foreign direct investment over the next five years. Today, the person who champions Canada best—our Prime Minister, Mark Carney—is in New York City. In September, he will be meeting in Toronto with 100 of the largest—or maybe the largest—sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, etc., from around the world to look to bring in that investment.
Of course, the work that both of you do helps in getting us to that ambitious goal.
MP McKenzie was talking about some of the challenges we have domestically. You have had the opportunity to head up investment for Nova Scotia. You've lived in Alberta. I know you were a cabinet minister in Ontario, and now you are here at Invest in Canada, Ms. Broten.
When you speak to our provincial counterparts and when we talk about having one economy.... I can tell you that the federal government has gotten rid of the 53 barriers that were in front of the one Canadian economy, but we are working hard to address the barriers that still exist between provinces, even down to the municipal level, with all of the regulatory regimes, which I'm sure many of those looking to invest in Canada bring up.
Can you tell me what your strategy is, what you have done and how you have addressed this with provincial counterparts?
Chief Executive Officer, Invest in Canada
Very important work is being done, and I can tell you that we are feeling it and businesses are seeing it. There is a streamlining of regulatory approvals. There is a willingness.
I was talking about the partnership we have with Quebec and the partnerships we have with every province, and I can tell you that there really is a Canadian desire to improve our realities and still have strong standards and to make efficient changes in a way that I don't think we've seen before across the country. This work is crucial. Businesses are seeing it.
You don't have to take my word for it. The best indication is that we ranked number two globally in FDI confidence this year. That is a global assessment of how executives view a country and whether they are confident in investing there. Number two is a very good spot for Canada, and we've gone up in terms of that percentage.
Liberal
Peter Fonseca Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON
We have a very strong brand right now. You can look at our workforce, our rule of law and the trade agreements we have around the world, and how to capitalize on that at this time and bring in that investment.
Is that something that you also capitalize on, Mr. Kwon, when you go out to market?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Commercial Corporation
Absolutely, sir. What we're trying to do as team Canada—and Laurel plays a very important role, as we do, along with other partners in the trade portfolio—is create a virtuous circle.
In the case of FDI, Laurel and I have had these chats. As we're attracting investments into this country to create economic activity, it makes sense in certain sectors where CCC plays a role and is good at government-to-government work to impart that knowledge and the capabilities from day one. It's so that even as part of the investment strategy and the business case that foreign investors are making, they understand immediately that upon success on the ground here in Canada domestically, eventually they'll have to export to international markets. Having that knowledge and knowing that there's a capable path give them greater confidence.
Liberal
Peter Fonseca Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON
On that, just quickly I'll say that all politics are local. We speak with local businesses all the time—with small and medium-sized enterprises and also with large enterprises. I have never referred one of those businesses to either of you, because I don't know where the portal is, how to get to you or what you can do for them. I would like more information in order to deliver that to the riding of Mississauga East—Cooksville.
We have other Mississauga members here—Iqra Khalid—and others from across Ontario and across Canada and Quebec. We want to have that information so we can.... Proactively, do you go out and find businesses that will fit the niche or the gap you see and then take them in to look at contracts for those businesses, or do they have to find you? I ask because I don't think they'll be able to do that.