Prime Minister Mark Carney said Saudi Arabian investors are interested in Canadian energy, mining and infrastructure, as he concluded the first visit of a Canadian leader to the Middle Eastern kingdom in 26 years. Canada said its officials and an accompanying delegation of businesses signed agreements with Saudi partners worth more than $1 billion. And following the trip, some of each nation’s biggest investors will take a closer look at the other’s assets. Public Investment Fund , Saudi Arabia’s US$900 billion sovereign wealth vehicle , will attend an investment summit Carney’s hosting in Toronto in September, he told reporters Thursday. And Canada’s Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne will lead a delegation of the country’s large pension funds to the Gulf state in the coming months, Carney said. Carney’s visit is part of his strategy to diversify Canada’s economy away from its dependence on the United States in light of threats and tariffs from President Donald Trump. And it extends a series of leader-to-leader summits seeking rapprochement with states that had unfriendly relationships with his predecessor Justin Trudeau — particularly China and India. “Engagement is not endorsement,” Carney said, defending his approach. “Lecturing countries from afar is an ineffective strategy.” On the sectors in Canada that might see investment from Saudi Arabia, Carney cited energy, from liquefied natural gas to nuclear, as well as mining and conventional infrastructure. He saw great interest from Saudi partners in building educational ties and the “agentic” layer of artificial intelligence technology. Canada tells UAE it is not ready for its $70 billion investmentCarney’s $25-billion sovereign wealth fund should trade as ETF, says TMX CEO Carney, Champagne, Defence Minister David McGuinty, Canada’s ambassador, and Canada’s Defence Investment Agency chief executive Doug Guzman met with Saudi Arabia’s top ranking business and government officials on Thursday. They included the CEO of Saudi Arabia’s state-backed oil firm Aramco , Amin Nasser, the governor of the PIF, the head of mining firm Maaden, and Saudi AI firm Humain. Carney capped it off by meeting Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. Carney has signed many deals since becoming prime minister last year, but is less successful in delivering major economic results, the opposition Conservative Party argued in a statement. It cited, among other figures, a June Bloomberg survey that saw economists slash growth expectations for the Canada’s economy. Bloomberg.com
Saudis eye Canadian assets as investment fund accepts Carney’s invite to Toronto
