{"id":197229,"date":"2026-09-05T12:41:06","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/197229\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T12:41:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:41:06","slug":"canada-has-what-the-world-wants-carneys-1-trillion-pitch-and-the-man-he-picked-to-sell-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/197229\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Canada has what the world wants’ \u2014 Carney’s $1-trillion pitch and the man he picked to sell it"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dominic<\/a> Dominic Barton <\/p>\n

“We have what the world wants.” This was Prime Minister Mark Carney’s declaration almost a year before announcing the new heads of the federal government agency that promotes and attracts foreign direct investment into the country<\/a>. But as of September 1, Dominic Barton will chair Invest in Canada, the federal agency Prime Minister Mark Carney is counting on to pull off one of the most ambitious economic bets of his government<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Barton spent 30 years climbing the ranks at McKinsey and Company, a top global management consulting firm that advises businesses, governments and non-profits on strategy, operations and technology. He was running this consulting giant as its global managing partner before Ottawa sent him to Beijing as Canada’s ambassador to China. Now, at 63 years old, Barton will assume a new title: Chair of Invest in Canada. <\/p>\n

And the stakes are real \u2014 for Canada and for Canadians’ wallets. <\/p>\n

Carney’s government wants to catalyze $1 trillion in total investment in Canada over the next five years, including $500 billion in new private-sector capital. And this ambitious goal comes at the exact moment US tariffs are squeezing Canadian exporters, manufacturers and consumers. But if Carney’s bet pays off, it could mean new jobs and projects in critical minerals, energy and infrastructure. If it falls short, taxpayers are left funding an agency with little to show for it. <\/p>\n

Don’t Miss What actually changed at Invest in Canada <\/p>\n

Carney announced the shake-up on August 31, naming Barton as the part-time board chair for a three-year term. At the same time, private equity investor Gurinder Grewal was named as full-time chief executive officer for a term of five years<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Barton and Grewal replace outgoing Chief Executive Officer Laurel Broten and Board Chair Karl Tabbakh \u2014 and just two weeks ahead of Carney’s inaugural Canada Investment Summit<\/a> in Toronto on September 14 and 15. <\/p>\n

Invest in Canada was created in 2018 to attract foreign direct investment. As of 2025, foreign investment in Canada hit $96.8 billion, its highest annual level since 2007. Plus, the stock of foreign investment reached $1.6 trillion, up 6.9% from 2024<\/a>. Ottawa wants Barton and Grewal to build on these previous successes with a new, more ambitious mandate, working alongside the government’s Major Projects Office. <\/p>\n

Story Continues <\/p>\n

Read more: 3 essential money moves to make once you’ve saved $50,000<\/a> <\/p>\n

Why this matters to Canadians right now <\/p>\n

Carney’s announcement \u2014 and plans \u2014 matter to all Canadians. Foreign investment isn’t just an abstract economic indicator; it’s tied to jobs, wages and the projects that get built in Canadian communities. Now, with the trade war disrupting exports and raising household costs, Ottawa is betting that redirecting global capital toward energy, critical minerals and infrastructure will help cushion current economic blows. For workers in those sectors, a successful push could mean new hiring \u2014 which means jobs, stability and a growing Canadian economy. Even for Canadians not directly involved in target sectors, this push to build investment alliances with non-US partners helps Canada’s economy stand on its own outside that single trading relationship south of the border. <\/p>\n

A resume with baggage <\/p>\n

But Barton’s appointment isn’t without controversy. <\/p>\n

He was Canada’s ambassador to China from 2019 to 2021, a posting dominated by the ‘Two Michaels’ crisis, when China detained Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor for more than 1,000 days in what was widely seen as retaliation for Canada’s arrest of a Huawei executive<\/a>. <\/p>\n

After leaving the ambassador post, Barton became chair of mining giant Rio Tinto, a move that raised questions over the company’s extensive business ties in China. He was also called to testify before the House of Commons in 2023 over consulting fees earned under the Justin Trudeau government. During that time, the federal government paid more than $100 million in consulting fees to McKinsey. <\/p>\n

As a result, critics, including Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, are highlighting Barton’s past possible transgressions. Poilievre took to social media<\/a> last week to state: “Dominic Barton is the man who ran McKinsey while the firm profited from helping Purdue Pharma ‘supercharge’ the opioid crisis; who chaired Trudeau’s economic advisory council while McKinsey’s federal contracts exploded thirty-fold to over $200m, contracts the Auditor General later found broke the rules. Now he will help insiders get billions in handouts, bailouts, and carve-outs, paid for by you.” <\/p>\n

There were also unanswered questions regarding the decision to replace Broten, who was in her fourth year of a five-year term. Money.ca<\/a>‘s requests for comment were left unanswered. <\/p>\n

What to watch before you believe the headline number <\/p>\n

While the headlines sound promising, Canadians already know that these big investment targets are easy to announce and hard to verify. <\/p>\n

Before crediting any economic turnaround to Carney’s decision for leadership change, Canadians should watch three things: <\/p>\n

How much of the promised $500 billion in private capital turns into signed, named projects? <\/p>\n

Are job announcements tied to specific communities and sectors rather than national totals? <\/p>\n

How will Invest in Canada report its results after the September summit, where Carney and top investors will pitch Canada as a stable alternative amid the trade war<\/a>? <\/p>\n

Bottom line for Barton and Grewal <\/p>\n

The test for Barton and Grewal isn’t the size of the investment funds Ottawa attached to their mandate \u2014 it’s whether that number turns into shovels in the ground and sustained economic momentum in Canadian communities. <\/p>\n

For Canadians watching their own job security and cost of living through the trade war, the more useful habit is the same one that applies to any big financial promise: track the follow-through, not the announcement. <\/p>\n

What To Read Next <\/p>\n

The most expensive financial mistakes are often the ones you don’t see coming. Join 19,000+ Canadians who get the money moves, risks and opportunities shaping their finances \u2014 delivered free each week. Subscribe now.<\/a> <\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Money.ca<\/a> under the title: ‘Canada has what the world wants’ \u2014 Carney’s $1-trillion pitch and the man he picked to sell it<\/a> <\/p>\n

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dominic Barton “We have what the world wants.” This was Prime Minister Mark Carney’s declaration almost a year…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":197230,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[59941,17,54586,351,817,735,59909,4617,111,60958,61],"class_list":["post-197229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mark-carney","tag-barton","tag-canada","tag-canada-investment-summit","tag-canadian","tag-canadians","tag-carney","tag-grewal","tag-invest","tag-mark-carney","tag-mckinsey","tag-ottawa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}