Merve Gül Aydoğan Ağlarcı
07 May 2026•Update: 07 May 2026
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that his government will continue attracting foreign investment to Canada regardless of American trade pressure as he touted record inflows and new trade partnerships.
“We’re creating new opportunities for Canadian businesses through more than 20 economic and security partnerships that we’ve signed on five continents in less than a year,” Carney said at an event in Mirabel, Quebec province, pointing to efforts in finalizing free trade agreements with India, Thailand, and the Philippines, as well as Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) member countries and member nations of the South American trade bloc Mercosur, namely Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
“This year, foreign direct investment into Canada is already at its highest level in nearly two decades,” he said, adding: “It’s running at twice the rate on a per capita basis as our nearest G7 competitor, and we’re just getting started.”
Responding to questions at the event, Carney commented on how Canada continues to draw investment amid global uncertainty and said: “It’s the moment to be bold, to build big, to have confidence, move forward, open up. That’s what we’re doing.”
“We’ll continue to get that investment despite the efforts of the Americans,” he noted.
His comments came amid new concern over Honda’s reported decision to suspend plans for a $15-billion electric vehicle plant in Ontario indefinitely, a development that threatened to cloud the government’s investment narrative.
Asked whether Ottawa had been informed of Honda’s move, Carney said: “We’re in constant contact with all the major automakers.”
“And that includes Honda, so we’re in discussions with them constantly,” he added.
During the Mirabel event on Quebec’s aerospace sector, he said the industry came up in nearly every meeting during a recent trip to Armenia, where he held talks with European leaders spanning defense, civilian aviation, and space.
In a statement, Carney also welcomed an agreement between Airbus and AirAsia to purchase 150 Airbus A220-300 aircraft, “the largest order for a Canadian-designed and produced aircraft in history.”
Every aircraft in the order will be assembled at Airbus Canada’s Mirabel facility, which employs over 4,600 workers and is the company’s most comprehensive commercial aircraft manufacturing site outside Europe.
Asked about the importance of the Montreal Canadiens’ playoff run, Carney said: “How important is the Habs run? I mean, there’s not much more important,” he quipped, adding he looks forward to “calling the president of the United States and sending him his Habs jersey.”
