Communist Party of Canada releases statement against Investment Summit

The Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Canada states that the Investment Summit is not about defending Canadian sovereignty, as the government claims. 

“It is a brazen auction of Canada’s public assets, natural resources, and infrastructure to the highest bidder. The Carney government secured a parliamentary majority with only 27 percent of eligible voters supporting it. Despite this narrow democratic foundation, it is pursuing a sweeping agenda of privatization, deregulation, militarization, and labour-rights rollbacks. The summit is central to that project.” 

The statement explains that the Carney government presents this summit as a strategy to diversify investment and reduce reliance on the U.S. market in the face of American trade hostility. 

“The narrative is that by courting global investors, Canada is protecting its sovereignty from Donald Trump. Leaving aside the fact that some of the biggest investors and the largest contingent from any particular country will be from the U.S., the summit is in practice eroding sovereignty rather than defending it.” 

It is stated that the projects being auctioned off are central to Canadian independence. 

“The general direction of this economic strategy is to develop the war economy, further integrating Canada into the US-NATO war machine. Capital does not invest without expectation of return. To deliver profitability, much of this “deal book” will require privatization.” 

It is also pointed out that many of the potential projects are located on Indigenous territories.

 “The government’s push to expedite permitting and reduce regulatory review time raises serious concerns about the adequacy of consultation and Indigenous nations’ rights to free, prior, and informed consent. When corporate monopolies gain control over resource development, Indigenous land rights and ecological safeguards are treated as obstacles to profitability rather than legal and inherent rights.” 

The contrast between the government’s priorities and the needs of working people are described as stark. “Ottawa is committing $150 billion annually to military spending within a decade, while cutting 40,000 public sector jobs. These cuts fuel privatization. As our public services become more and more anaemic, the political case can be made more easily for the “necessity” of privatization. These services can then be provided at a greater cost by private providers in order to pad corporate profits further. Corporate profits reached a record $677 billion in 2025. The bottom line is that the Carney government is making working people pay for the tariff crisis through austerity and privatization.” 

The Communist Party of Canada calls for a genuine alternative that would break with U.S. imperialism and the power of corporate monopolies. 

“Canada should withdraw from the USMCA and pursue mutually beneficial trade agreements that benefit working people. Key industries, including auto manufacturing and steel, should be nationalized and placed under public ownership and democratic control. A major investment in social housing and public infrastructure would address the housing crisis while creating jobs. Employment Insurance should be expanded to cover all unemployed workers at 90 percent of previous earnings for the full duration of unemployment. Plant closure legislation should require corporations to justify closures before a public tribunal with the power to stop the closures. Canada should leave NATO and NORAD and pursue a foreign policy of peace and disarmament, starting with standing up for Cuba against the vicious U.S. blockade, and condemning the Israeli government’s genocide of 73,000 Palestinians since 2023. 

Defending our sovereignty and independence means rejecting corporate rule, whether it comes from foreign powers or from within Canada. It means building up the unity and joint action of the labour and democratic forces in opposition to this fire sale of Canada’s rich natural resources, the attack on Indigenous rights set out in international law, and in support of prioritizing the needs of working people and the planet over corporate profit. Carney’s Investment Summit is a step in the opposite direction, and it demands our strongest opposition.”