FIRST READING: The eyewatering cost of the projects Canada is pitching to investors - National Post
The Port of Churchill, which is the subject of an $80 billion proposed expansion. Photo by HandoutArticle contentFirst Reading is a Canadian politics newsletter curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here.
This week saw Prime Minister Mark Carney preside over the first-ever Canada Investment Summit, a large, Toronto-based gathering of international financiers. At the centre of the summit was a “pitchbook,” outlining a slate of pre-approved projects open for investment, most of them resource-based.
The projects are also incredibly expensive, with several proposals dwarfing anything that’s ever been built in Canada with private capital.
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High prices aren’t all that off-brand for the Carney government. Its 18-month tenure has been marked by a series of big-ticket purchases that are not just expensive, but expensive beyond all existing standards for what such a thing should cost.
The Liberals are continuing to pursue a high-speed rail project through Ontario and Quebec that is projected to cost up to $90 million per kilometre. In Europe, such a railway would come in for just $40 million per kilometre.
And just this month, Ottawa earmarked $4.7 billion for Via Rail to build 313 passenger cars – about $15 million per car. For comparison, just a few months ago, Siemens signed a deal with the Swiss government to supply up to 200 six-car passenger trains at a cost equivalent to C$3.4 billion. That’s closer to a unit cost of between $2.8 and $5 million per car.
Below, a quick guide to some of the priciest items in the summit’s pitchbook, along with context about what kind of infrastructure money that represents.
Port of Churchill expansionQuoted price: $80 billion (US$57 billion)What that could buy instead: 16 St. Lawrence Seaways
