Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at the Alstom Plant in Thunder Bay, Ont., last week. Projects outlined to attendees of his investment summit include a proposed Alberta high-speed rail link and the planned Port of Churchill expansion.David Jackson/The Canadian Press
Officials organizing Prime Minister Mark Carney’s showcase Canada Investment Summit have circulated a “prospectus” booklet to attendees outlining more than 160 projects in various stages of development that are open for investment, including a proposed $10.9-billion high-speed rail link between Edmonton and Calgary and a planned $57-billion Port of Churchill expansion project.
The 66-page document, reviewed by The Globe and Mail, was shared Wednesday ahead of the Sept. 14-15 event in Toronto. It is framed as “a snapshot of the diverse opportunities available across multiple asset classes, sectors and stages of development.”
The proposed projects are categorized under eight sectors: conventional energy, clean energy, minerals and metals, marine and port infrastructure, power and utilities, digital technology, advanced manufacturing and transportation. They are spread across the country and include proposals with support from Indigenous groups.
The prospectus is the finished version of a “deal book” that the federal government has been compiling through Invest in Canada, which promotes foreign investment in the country with input from provincial governments and industry associations in key sectors. It is intended to give global investors attending the summit a sense of the range and scope of potential investment opportunities, large and small, and provide contact information for the projects’ proponents.
For each project, the prospectus gives a short description outlining its current stage, expected capital expenditure required and how it is intended to be financed, drawing on information submitted by the existing backers.
Some are in advanced stages and described as “shovel-ready,” and have been trying to raise capital for some time. Others are far more aspirational.
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One of the largest projects outlined is the proposed 1,250-kilometre West Coast Oil Pipeline that would connect Alberta to an export terminal in southern British Columbia, which is listed as costing an estimated $35-billion, with a final investment decision to be made between 2027 and 2029.
Another is the Wind West offshore wind and transmission initiative that Nova Scotia has proposed, which is pegged at $44-billion.
Other projects described in the prospectus include the US$5.2-billion Telesat Lightspeed low Earth orbit satellite network, the US$2-billion Crawford nickel mining project, a $14.5-billion Redcliff AI Data Center Campus and the $2.5-billion Labrador West Transmission Expansion Project.
The prospectus is not intended to be an exhaustive list of what will be discussed at the summit, and some participants will choose to discuss investment opportunities or early-stage plans confidentially in meetings on the summit’s sidelines.
The Edmonton-Calgary rail line project, known as the Prairie Link Rail Partnership, was first announced on June 8, 2021, by proponents EllisDon and AECOM through a memorandum of understanding with Alberta’s transport ministry. The idea is to build a high-speed rail link between Edmonton and Calgary, allowing passengers and freight to travel between the two cities at speeds up to 400 kilometres an hour.
Prairie Link has been on the province’s list of major projects ever since and, earlier this year, the Alberta government announced a new Passenger Rail Master Plan, which it said would guide the next steps in advancing passenger rail in the province.
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The plan identified various rail options Alberta could explore over the next 30 years, including high-speed regional service between Edmonton and Calgary via Red Deer.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and her Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen wrote to federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon on Aug. 7 seeking federal support for the Prairie Link High Speed Rail project.
The letter describes the plan as a partnership between infrastructure developer EllisDon Capital and infrastructure consulting firm AECOM.
“The plan includes high-speed rail connecting downtown Calgary to downtown Edmonton, along with complimentary regional commuter rail service between downtown Calgary and Airdrie, and between Edmonton International Airport and downtown Edmonton,” they wrote, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Globe and Mail.
“We would greatly appreciate Transport Canada’s support to move the project to the next stage, including access to applicable federal funding through the Canada Infrastructure Bank and other federal grants and programs. Alberta is ready to work collaboratively with the federal government to see this important infrastructure project progress,” the letter states.
With a report from Tim Kiladze