What Ottawa Might Say About Private Money for Airports
Ottawa was expected to say Tuesday, Sept. 15 what comes next for bringing private money into Canada's airports. The news was expected during its two-day investor meeting in Toronto.
Four Liberal MPs shared that expectation with The Globe and Mail after a briefing from Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon late Monday. Two government officials confirmed the call happened and said MacKinnon talked about airport modernization, with more detail to come Tuesday. The Globe and Mail
Two MPs on the call said MacKinnon named the four big international airports in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal for foreign investment. A business source told the paper the government would lay out Tuesday morning the start of a process to open shares in major airports to private investors.
The bigger picture here is process, not a sale. The words used so far describe the start of a process. No sale has been announced. No plan has been published.
The legislative and fiscal groundwork
Ottawa has passed several measures on this file in recent months. The 2025 Liberal budget said the government would look at options for airport privatization. That means selling or leasing public airports to private owners. The budget also has a section called "Catalysing Investment in Airports and Ports" that says the government is acting to bring more money into airports and ports. Budget 2025
The bill to put parts of the spring economic update into law gives Ottawa more power to get financial facts from airports. Officials have tied this wider look at public assets to budget planning. Ottawa is looking at ways to turn federal assets, including airports, into cash to grow its new sovereign wealth fund. That is a large investment fund owned by the government. This was reported in April. The Globe and Mail
MacKinnon said in April that work on possibly turning airports into cash was still early. The Globe and Mail
Think of the system like rental housing. Ottawa owns the land. Local airport groups run the airports under long rentals. Transport Canada owns 23 airports. They are leased to Canadian airport authorities, with 21 authorities running them. Transport Canada Since the Airports Capital Assistance Program started in 1995, Ottawa has spent over $1.25 billion on 1,239 projects. Transport Canada
In March 2025, Ottawa put out a policy statement on investment at National Airports System airports run by airport authorities. A related release was called "Government of Canada releases policy statement on airport investment."
The meeting is meant to attract very large investors. Hundreds of investors holding almost $120 trillion in assets were expected in Toronto for the Canada Investment Summit. Canada's large airports were not named in a 66-page information booklet given to those at the meeting. In a separate step, Canada's tax agency will put first the early tax decisions tied to investments of C$1 billion or more. Reuters
A long-circulating file
For context, this debate is not new for people who follow transport. The Liberal government asked Credit Suisse to study the gains from privatizing airports before the 2017 budget. Former transport minister Marc Garneau later said the government was not going ahead with airport privatization at that time.
For context, that past helps explain the rules today. Airport groups work under long rentals with Ottawa. To allow private shares, especially foreign shares, Ottawa must spell out what is sold or leased, how land rent is handled, how passenger fees are set, and how safety and national security checks stay in place. None of those details were in the confirmed reports of Monday's call.
Before Tuesday, groups on both sides spoke out. A poll of 3,000 Canadians paid for by Australian money manager IFM Investors found 79 per cent said more spending on airports is important or needed. The Canadian Labour Congress put out a report on Friday arguing against airport privatization and asked Ottawa to keep airports off the meeting agenda.
Other countries were part of the debate. Gowling WLG reported that as of last year, more than 850 airports in more than 90 countries have some private involvement.
The broader context here is who owns and who controls. Ottawa owns the land at the biggest airports and sets the rental terms. The airport groups borrow money, build and set fees under those terms. Private money could enter in different ways, from buying a share of the rental deal to holding contracts to run terminals and services. Each way would affect rent paid to Ottawa, room to borrow and answerability to Parliament in a different way.
Looking ahead to the next 48 hours, listen for exact words Tuesday. Experts will note if Ottawa says foreign investment or Canadian pension money, if it names the four airports cited by MPs or the wider National Airports System, and if it promises talks, a new law or an outside expert to run a deal. Starting talks and making a decision are different in Ottawa. That difference will shape how provinces, cities, airlines and labour react, and how fast any money can reach concrete and runways.
