By Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo
TORONTO, Sept 14 (Reuters) – Hundreds of activists rallied in downtown Toronto on Monday, demonstrating against Prime Minister Mark Carney’s investment summit that seeks to attract interest in more than 160 mining, energy, technology and infrastructure projects.
Protest organizers said they opposed projects that would expand fossil fuel infrastructure, increase military production and transfer greater control of public assets to private investors. The demonstration drew labour, migrant rights, environmental and social justice groups.
Carney’s approval rating remains above 60% according to the latest Angus Reid poll, as Canadians back his efforts to stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the country’s exports. But Carney has angered the more progressive wing of his Liberal Party by rolling back many of his predecessor Justin Trudeau’s climate policies to restore friendlier relations with resource-extracting industries and prioritize economic growth.
Haley Asquin, a spokesperson for Common Horizon, a group representing young workers, said protest participants were concerned that projects highlighted at the summit included fossil fuels, artificial intelligence and military-related industries.
“We’re young workers and we want good jobs, and we want to be part of building a country that we can be proud of,” Asquin said. “We don’t want to see fossil fuels that are going to destroy our climate. We don’t want to see military weapons that are going to fill our world with violence. And we don’t want AI that is going to directly threaten workers’ jobs.”
The summit aims to match around 100 global investors with Canadian CEOs, companies and local officials to facilitate investments or partnerships. Carney has been looking to diversify Canada’s economic ties beyond the U.S., its largest trading partner, by pursuing closer commercial relationships with investors and governments in the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
On Monday, Bell Canada said it was expanding a data center project in Saskatchewan, while the finance ministry said it would prioritize advance income tax ruling requests for investments of C$1 billion ($718.9 million) or more to help investors get a decision before they commit capital. Carney has also pledged to increase defense spending.
Syed Hassan, executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, said protesters opposed what they described as government support for private investors through subsidies and tax incentives.
(Reporting by Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo; Editing by Caroline Stauffer and Thomas Derpinghaus)
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