Carney sells Canada to global investors but says US ties still key

TORONTO, Canada (AFP)—Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney pitched Canada as an investment haven Tuesday at a gathering of global financial elite, but conceded ties with the United States remained crucial despite an escalating trade war.

Carney convened the Canada Investment Summit as part of his push to diversify an economy he insists had grown too reliant on an increasingly protectionist United States.

The guest list for the event in Toronto included representatives of Gulf sovereign wealth funds, European banks, the China Investment Corporation, as well as Africa's richest man, Nigerian tycoon Aliko Dangote, along with US investors.

"Our goal is to catalyze CAN$1 trillion (US$720 billion) of investment in Canada over the next five years," Carney told the event, promising tax deductions and less red tape to make the country more attractive to foreign capital.

Carney said Canada had the reserves of critical minerals and clean energy that the world needs, calling these sectors the keys to "strategic autonomy," also highlighting plans to build a new pipeline that will help bring "one million barrels of low-emission Alberta oil per day to Asian markets."

"We are unleashing our full potential as an energy superpower," the prime minister said.

He said Canada would open its four largest airports to private investment, a controversial move rejected by previous governments, which Carney said could generate billions of dollars in public revenue.

The CEO of investment behemoth BlackRock, Larry Fink, told the summit that "if the Canadian government follows through with the plans that have been presented today...I do believe international capital will seek out these opportunities."

- 'Maybe they'll shoot you' -

In his opening address, hours after Trump imposed new tariffs on certain Canadian goods, Carney offered an optimistic view of future US relations.

"We will always be neighbors, and Canada will continue to be the US's most important partner in many key areas," he said.

He recalled that the two countries had always maintained close ties, "even at times of disagreement."

When conditions allow, Canada will resume US partnership, but from a "stronger" and more "independent" position, Carney said.

He then shared an anecdote about a visit to the White House last year, when Trump gave him an honorary key.

"He's like, 'Yeah, it's a key to the White House. You just bring it, they'll let you in,'" Carney told the audience.

"And then (Trump) says, 'Maybe they'll shoot you.'"

Trump's public treatment of Carney has varied wildly, with the president occasionally praising the Canadian leader before mocking him as the "governor" of a US state.

The prime minister said the key anecdote "sort of sums up the relationship that we have," indicating it can be unpredictable.

The summit closed with an address from former prime minister Stephen Harper, a Conservative who nevertheless has backed the Liberal's Carney posture towards Washington.

To preserve Canadian "sovereignty, we must pursue diminished reliance upon the United States," Harper said. "We cannot allow the Trump administration to hollow out our industrial capacities."

- Partners we can 'rely' on -

Carney later headed to Strasbourg, France, where he will become the first head of government to attend the State of the European Union address.

Closer ties with the EU are at the core of Canada's strategy to pivot away from the United States.

Carney has said he is seeking a "unique alliance" with the bloc and was pressed Tuesday for details on what that might include.

He said Canada and the EU intend to hammer out their future relationship at a summit next month in Montreal.

It's crucial for Canada to be "connected to partners on which we can rely," Carney said.