Carney lines up Fink, Gray to speak at Canada investment summit

CEO of BlackRock Larry Fink speaks during a panel at the BlackRock Infrastructure Summit on March 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

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BlackRock Inc. chief executive Larry Fink and Blackstone Inc. president Jon Gray are set to offer their views on Canada as an investment destination at a conference organized by Mark Carney’s government, according to a draft agenda of the event.

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Fink and Gray will join Dutch pension head Annette Mosman and Dilhan Pillay, chief executive of Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte, for a post-lunch panel discussion at the Sept. 15 event. The investment-firm executives will highlight “what they see in Canada today,” according to the document.

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Blackstone has been particularly active on Canadian transactions recently, playing a role in the proposed breakup of a public real estate company and a multibillion-dollar deal for a minority stake in Air Canada’s loyalty program.

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The conference, which is also bringing in executives from Middle East sovereign wealth funds, kicks off with a gala dinner on Sept. 14, followed by a full day of meetings and on-stage programming at the Four Seasons in Toronto. The agenda is in flux and may still change, but the version seen by Bloomberg includes sessions on Canadian mining and critical minerals, technology, energy, defence and advanced manufacturing.

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The event comes at a moment of high tension between Canada and the U.S., its largest economic partner.

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Carney, 61, walked away last month from talks with the U.S. on a deal to reduce tariffs and trade barriers. Carney’s relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration has become particularly fraught since then, as the two nations have escalated their trade dispute with further tariffs.

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Trump laid into Canada in a six-minute-long answer to a reporter’s question in the Oval Office on Wednesday, complaining about Canada’s approach to agriculture, autos, banking and aviation.

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“A lot of people say: Who’s the toughest one to deal with? Is it China, sir, is it China, is it Vietnam? I said ‘No, actually it’s Canada,’” the president said.

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Investment drive

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CEOs from some of Canada’s largest companies in key sectors — including Suncor Energy Inc., Teck Resources Ltd., jet manufacturer Bombardier Inc. and artificial-intelligence lab Cohere Inc. — are booked to appear at the summit, the document shows.

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Carney, who has had a direct hand in the planning and will deliver an opening keynote speech, is seeking to put a new spin on Canada’s international reputation, rebranding it as a business-friendly destination for global capital.

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The prime minister’s economic plan depends on boosting investment, partly to help pay for infrastructure such as expanded ports and pipelines that would allow Canada to increase its exports to non-U.S. markets and cushion the blow of American protectionism. The government has also laid out a plan to substantially increase military spending.

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Deborah Orida and John Graham, the chief executives of Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, respectively, will also speak at the conference, and the prime minister will be joined by several cabinet ministers.