At Canada’s inaugural Investment Summit held in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced his government’s plans to open up the country’s largest airports to private investors, including Toronto Pearson International Airport.
The audience of Carney’s keynote speech, a room filled with many foreign billionaires, Canadian premiers, former prime minister Stephen Harper and various other government officials, offered up rapturous applause.
But outside the conference rooms of Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel where the summit was held, Carney’s airport announcement drew sharp criticism over concerns opening up Pearson Airport and others to private investment could degrade the quality of airport services and increase fees.
The Canadian Labour Congress, an umbrella organization for unions across the country, published a statement warning that privatization could lead to higher costs for passengers and airlines.
The organization points to Australia’s airport privatization scheme, beginning in the late 1990s, as an example of those poor outcomes. A 2019 report from Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission found the country’s residents dealt with higher costs for years following privatization while investors raked in profits.
Carney’s summit aimed to court some of the world’s richest people to invest in a variety of projects, ranging from mining to data centres and manufacturing.
American billionaires at the summit included Larry Fink of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, and a known Trump confidant.
Also in attendance was Jon Gray of Blackstone, an American company that UN human rights advisers say has exacerbated the global housing crisis.
This article appeared in the 2026 Oct/Nov issue.
