OTTAWA — The dust has not finished settling on the Canada Investment Summit, but Dominic Barton said he is intent on smoothing out the road to deal making—or, at the very least, helping those keen to invest decide whether to begin, and complete, the journey. 

The chair of Canada’s federal investment promotion agency, Invest in Canada, said that Prime Minister Mark Carney gave him a “bold and clear” mandate for the role: “Get it.”

By “it,” Barton means money. A lot of money. In an interview with The Logic, the veteran corporate executive said Invest in Canada is tasked with supporting Ottawa’s efforts to “catalyze” $1 trillion of investment over five years—by making the process as smooth as possible for foreign investors.

A ‘one-stop shop’

The federal government set up the agency in 2018 as a single focal point for promoting and attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). It was also meant to make it easier for investors to turn their interest into reality. Barton said the new leadership team at the agency, which includes equity investor Gurinder Grewal as CEO, is tasked with moving beyond promotion to serve as a “one-stop shop” for investors needing help navigating the process.

“It’s the next chapter,” Barton said. People know Canada wants to build and attract foreign investment to do so, he said. Now, it’s about how to get that done. “Time kills deals.”

The ‘black hole’ of decision-making

In July, The Logic reported that Ottawa wanted Invest in Canada to play a specific role in attracting FDI amid efforts to reduce Canada’s reliance on the United States—including by helping to compile a deal book that became the guiding document at last month’s summit in Toronto.

The government’s internal analysis also warned of conflicting priorities and disparate performance measures among departments, financing agencies and regulators, which get in the way of speedy project approvals. The goal should be “seamless investor experiences across all federal touchpoints,” said the document The Logic obtained through the Access to Information Act.

Invest in Canada does not decide which projects get the green light. So Barton, a former global managing partner at McKinsey & Company and Canadian ambassador to China, described himself with self-deprecation as a “coffee boy” who helps figure out where the bottlenecks are, how to clear them or whether they can be resolved at all.

Sometimes the choke point can be the regulatory process, such as environmental impact assessments and consultations with First Nations. There might be reviews by more than one level of government, although the Liberal government has introduced legislation to cut down on that. There could also be policy that is getting in the way, or the absence of policy that could help, which means Ottawa might need to make a bigger change—or decide it is not worth the trade-offs.

It could also just be bureaucratic wheels turning slowly, as they tend to do.

“Sometimes it can come across as a bit of a black hole,” Barton said of government decision-making. Carney is generating a lot of excitement when it comes to major projects, but there are still processes to follow. Explaining the obstacles and timelines to investors, much like a mountain guide for those navigating rough terrain, can cut down on their frustration, he said.

‘Time matters’

Days before the summit, RBC launched a $1.4-billion growth fund to help Canadian tech firms scale globally. Barton said there were foreign investors who had not heard of it until it was mentioned in Toronto, but are “now actively having discussions” about it.

He mentioned that as just one example of the benefits of gathering global leaders and investors controlling $120 trillion in one place.

Barton said investors clocked the presence of provincial premiers—including B.C.’s David Eby and Alberta’s Danielle Smith—and welcomed the opportunity to ask questions of Mark Podlasly, CEO of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, about consultations with Indigenous communities. Investors came away with the impression that the federal government and other players understood it was taking too long to get projects off the ground, Barton said.

“Canada actually gets it. The time matters.”

Upside, not a must

Being next door to the U.S. with duty-free access to its market has long been a big incentive for foreign businesses to set up shop in Canada, so The Logic asked Barton whether uncertainty over the future of the North American trade pact was on the mind of potential investors in Toronto. Barton said he got the sense that restored relations with the U.S. would be an “upside” for investing here, but not the main reason: “I heard some saying, ‘Look, we think there’s an opportunity in Canada, irrespective of what’s happening in the U.S.’”

Off limits

As The Logic reported last month, Barton will continue to lead the board of directors at global mining giant Rio Tinto while serving as the part-time chair of Invest in Canada for a three-year term. He is also the non-executive chair at LeapFrog Investments, a private equity firm focused on emerging markets. In the interview, Barton said he has discussed the situation with the federal ethics commissioner. There is a conflict-of-interest screen in place that directs anything related to mining to others at the agency so that it never crosses his desk, said Barton. “I don’t see it.”

Still going

The way that Barton will measure his success in this role is as clear as the mandate: “Results.” He wants foreign investors to feel like the process of spending money on Canadian projects is smooth and quick, but getting that money to flow during his time as chair is the ultimate goal. “I would like to see some big numbers as it relates to that trillion [dollars] that are in place,” he said.

There was a lot of momentum coming out of the summit, which he has kept going by taking the pitch book on the road. In Seoul and Shanghai, then back to his home base of London, Barton said he had lunch and dinner meetings with investors, including from Europe and the Middle East, who were unable to attend the main event but wanted to have a look.

Still, he knows real deals need to start coming together soon—and hopes they will over the next couple of weeks. “We’ve got to get the things signed up because activity doesn’t equal impact.”