People, communities and values are at the heart of modern FDI
On Canada Day, Canadians from coast-to-coast celebrate the anniversary of the country we call home, the people that inhabit it, and the values that unite them.
As the country’s investment attraction and promotion agency, Invest in Canada works everyday to bring the best the world has to offer to Canada. It’s why modern FDI is as much about the people, communities, and values it upholds than the investments themselves.
Invest in Canada seeks to attract high-quality, community-focused investments that deliver long-term, sustainable returns for Canadians. We work with investors who share and embrace our values.
Katie Curran, Interim CEO, Invest in Canada
Consider the $5 billion investment Stellantis-LG Energy Solution announced to build a brand-new battery manufacturing facility in Windsor, Ontario.
For Invest in Canada, the announcement was the culmination of months of work, in which we helped identify and attract this global investor. We worked collaboratively with all levels of government from the outset of the process to secure this major investment in the future of Canada’s automobile industry.
At the time, headlines obviously focused on the size of the investment – the largest in Canadian automotive history – and the number of jobs it would create – up to 2,500.
And while these are important measures of the impact the investment will have for the Windsor community, it also means a cleaner future for all Canadians.
Protecting the environment and the fight against climate change
Canadians care about the environment and want their country to take bold action to help reduce carbon emissions globally. Investments like the one by Stellantis-LG Energy Solution help give us the tools to do it. With close to 30% of GHG emissions coming from the transportation sector, the development of a start-to-finish electric vehicle supply chain stands to be one of Canada’s greatest contributions in the fight against climate change.
India-based AV Group’s $400 million investment in New Brunswick is another example of foreign investment helping to bring made-in-Canada green technologies to the world. Thanks to the investment, two lumber mills in Nackawic and Atholville that originally supplied the paper industry will now provide dissolving pulp to produce bio-degradable and eco-friendly viscose staple fibre.
Investing in Canada also involves being good stewards of the land. Here again, AV Group’s actions highlight the value of responsible investment.
AV Group manages about 750,000 hectares of woodland in the province of New Brunswick. We develop a management plan for our [forests]. And with that management plan comes restrictions, and values, goals. That would include managing for wildlife species, ecological habitat, and forest ecosystems.
Ryan Smith, Operation Planning Forester, AV Group
In it for the long haul
Today, Canadians want global companies to not only invest, but to put roots down in their communities contributing to local economies, and supporting local organizations, infrastructure, and social initiatives.
In Saguenay, Quebec, Norwegian metals and materials manufacturer Elkem is doing just that, investing heavily in the development of long-term economic development of the region.
We created a new division, a new research center, in fact. We’re really building a whole new industrial ecosystem through Elkem, something that doesn’t happen often in a lifetime.
Geneviève Giasson, Head, Biocarbon pilot plant, Elkem Metal Canada
Nurturing Canadian talent
Without a doubt, the greatest contribution a company can make to the vitality of Canadians communities is to invest in people.
Here again, global investors are making a difference, with French videogame developer Ubisoft leading by example.
From the very start, we knew that we had to create our ecosystem. We decided to invest in Ubisoft Campus. [In] collaboration with local CEGEPs and universities, we created the Ubisoft Campus, which generated up to 500 graduates in art and design and programming.
Francis Baillet, VP of Corporate Affairs, Ubisoft
A bright future for Canada
Invest in Canada is proud to uphold Canadian values on the world stage. Moving forward, we will continue to seek out the world’s best sources of FDI to create long-lasting prosperity for Canadian communities across the country.
Happy Canada Day!
Learn more about global companies that are making an impact for Canadians.