Canada’s $70B UAE Investment Stalled: No Projects Ready by July 8

Canada’s Major Projects Office rejected a UAE delegation’s bid to deploy billions in pledged investment during a mid-June meeting in Ottawa, citing a lack of shovel-ready projects. Prime Minister Mark Carney secured a $70 billion commitment from UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in November 2025, but none of those funds have been deployed. The delay exposes a gap between Carney’s ambitious investment targets and Canada’s ability to deliver infrastructure projects at the speed foreign investors expect.

Why the UAE investment remains frozen

Canada’s Major Projects Office told the UAE delegation in mid-June that the country was not ready to receive the pledged capital, according to the Financial Times citing three anonymous officials. One Canadian official said: “The PM keeps talking about the $50bn UAE commitment he secured on his first visit in November. None of that has been deployed.” The issue is not UAE interest but Canada’s lack of defined, investment-ready projects with clear regulatory paths, ownership structures, and construction timelines.

Carney’s broader investment push faces the same bottleneck

Former Quebec premier Jean Charest, co-chair of the UAE-Canada Business Council, said the Major Projects Office is giving the same answer to all foreign investors right now: “we’re not ready.” Carney established the Major Projects Office in August to fast-track more than 20 projects worth $135 billion combined. He has also pledged to double non-US trade over the next decade and aims to attract $1 trillion in new investment over five years. Yet a critical minerals deal announced in November has yet to materialize nine months later.

Energy projects and the Alberta pipeline emerge as potential channels

The UAE delegation expressed specific interest in energy partnerships, including a proposed pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia. Carney recently announced a slate of infrastructure projects meant to catalyze over $141 billion in new investment, including a 1 million barrel-per-day pipeline to BC’s west coast that currently has no private backers. Charest said the delegation raised interest in the pipeline and is broadly circling Canada’s energy sector as an investment avenue.

September summit puts pressure on Carney to deliver

Pressure is mounting on Carney to present shovel-ready projects at a Toronto investor summit scheduled for September, which aims to generate $1 trillion in investment over five years. Carney has also ordered staff to finalize a UAE-Canada trade agreement expected to be signed this month. A UAE official told the Financial Times that the investments are moving through standard due diligence and that the UAE remains committed to the relationship, calling it “one of the most important partnerships globally.”

Final Thoughts

Canada faces a rare problem: a foreign investor ready to deploy tens of billions, but no projects ready to receive it. Carney’s credibility on attracting foreign capital depends on delivering shovel-ready deals by September.

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