Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives at his Ottawa office on Friday ahead of his roundtable with financial executives in Toronto.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to meet with Bay Street executives on Friday afternoon in Toronto to sell the government’s economic growth agenda and push for more investment from business leaders.
At the beginning of the week, the Prime Minister’s office reached out to chief executive officers at some of the country’s largest banks and pension plans to schedule an hour-long roundtable on “fostering effective public-private cooperation,” according to an invitation reviewed by The Globe and Mail.
Mr. Carney invited CEOs to share their views on two issues. The first is Canada’s current economic conditions and outlook. The second item on the agenda is “promoting economic growth and mobilizing capital.”
Getting Canadian companies to invest more, and banks to lend more freely, has been top of mind for Mr. Carney since his days as governor of the Bank of Canada beginning in 2008.
In 2012, as head of the central bank, Mr. Carney took a swing at corporate Canada, accusing companies of sitting on huge piles of “dead money” that should be invested productively or returned to investors.
The Prime Minister is also expected to update CEOs on trade negotiations between Canada, the United States and Mexico, according to sources at the financial institutions. The Globe and Mail is not naming the sources because they are not permitted to discuss the meeting.
On Thursday, a trade delegation from Mexico arrived in Toronto and was greeted by Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade. The Mexican group is also going to Montreal and has scheduled more than 1,800 business-to-business meetings.
The CEOs of at least three major banks and pension funds are expected to attend the meeting, according to the sources.
The Prime Minister is expected to attend both the Toronto Tempo’s WNBA debut – their opponent in Friday night’s game is the Washington Mystics – and a gala staged by think tank Canada 2020 featuring a speech from former U.S. President Barack Obama.
After the economic roundtable with CEOs, the Prime Minister will meet with the President of Guyana, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, according to his official agenda.
Former prime minister Stephen Harper would often arrange informal meetings with CEOs when visiting Toronto on government business, according to an executive at one of the financial institutions invited to the session with Mr. Carney.
The gatherings stopped after Justin Trudeau took power in 2015, although former finance minister Chrystia Freeland routinely sat down with Bay Street executives in the same office Mr. Carney is using for Friday’s meeting.
