Catching Up: The Case for Infrastructure Banks in Canada

In the slow recovery from the devastating world-wide recession of 2008-9, Canada continues to face a large “infrastructure deficit.” Traditional ways of paying for new infrastructure projects or renewal — property, gas taxes, and government grants — may not be able to finance all major projects in future. Around the world, countries and subnational political entities are turning to Infrastructure Banks (“iBanks”) to provide another kind of capital for infrastructure projects.

Canada possesses world-class expertise in its insurance companies, pension funds and investment banks to lead in the creation of national, provincial or municipal iBanks. This paper urges all levels of government and the private sector to “catch up” to these discussions and to look at various forms of iBanks and ask whether it is time for Canada to create one or more iBanks.

Click here to read to read “Catching Up: The Case for Infrastructure Banks in Canada” as published by The Van Horne Institute, February 2014.