Canada must rethink how infrastructure projects are planned, funded and delivered if it hopes to strengthen its economy, improve productivity and enhance competitiveness on the world stage.
That’s the bottom line in a report done by PwC, called Mobilizing Canada’s US $4.7T Infrastructure Opportunity, that delved into the opportunity of infrastructure investments by 2050.
While the country is poised to invest trillions of dollars in infrastructure over the next quarter century, the report warns spending more money alone will not be enough. Instead, it suggests the country must fundamentally change the way it thinks about infrastructure investments.
The report draws on a new database of forecasted infrastructure spending by Oxford Economics. It concludes Canada has an unprecedented chance to strengthen its standing. However, in order to accomplish that the nation will have to break down traditional silos and treat infrastructure as interconnected systems rather than a collection of standalone projects.
The report projects Canada will need US$4.7 trillion in infrastructure investments by 2050. Despite ranking fourth globally in annual infrastructure spending at approximately US$145 billion, Canada currently invests only 6.6 per cent of its gross domestic product in infrastructure. That falls short of the 7.4 per cent invested by higher-performing peer countries. Closing the gap would require an additional US$34 billion annually by the year 2050.
However, argues PwC, simply increasing expenditures misses the larger issue.
“Canada’s energy strategy, its defence commitments, its critical minerals potential and its digital ambitions are being treated as separate conversations,” says Johanne Mullen, partner, national leader of real assets at PwC Canada. “They’re not. They’re one infrastructure challenge. Canada can exceed its US$4.7 trillion forecast or fall short of it. The difference will come down to the decisions being made now on how we plan, fund and deliver together.”
The report envisions a Canada where infrastructure is developed as an integrated network. Roads serving remote mining regions could support defence installations and regional transportation. Rail corridors could be designed to accommodate transmission lines carrying electricity to industrial facilities and communities and digital infrastructure would be embedded across every layer of the economy.
According to the report, this systems-based approach could accelerate economic growth by enhancing trade competitiveness, strengthening energy independence and securing Canada’s economic sovereignty. It could also help address housing shortages, climate adaptation challenges and productivity concerns while creating jobs and attracting investment.
Nochane Rousseau, national managing partner for clients and markets at PwC Canada, described the report as more than an infrastructure assessment.
“The rails, grid connections and digital infrastructure Canada builds over the next 25 years will either accelerate that transformation or hold it back,” she said. “Mobilizing Canada’s US$4.7 trillion infrastructure opportunity is more than an infrastructure report. It’s a reinvention roadmap for how Canada builds its economic future.”
The report identifies three fundamental shifts required if Canada is to capitalize on the opportunity before it.
The first involves looking at the big picture. PwC argues that traditional infrastructure planning often focuses on individual projects without considering how they connect to broader economic objectives. Multi-use infrastructure, by contrast, can deliver benefits across multiple sectors and users simultaneously. A transportation corridor, for example, might also support transmission lines, telecommunications networks and community services.
Such an integrated approach can make projects more attractive to investors because costs and risks are shared among multiple stakeholders, PwC notes, while also creating broader economic value, allowing a single investment to support industrial development, housing growth, trade and energy security.
The second shift involves changing how infrastructure is financed. With governments facing fiscal constraints, PwC believes private capital will have to play a much larger role in funding future projects.
The report advocates for shared capital structures that blend public and private investment. It also highlights a growing role for Indigenous communities as long-term economic partners through revenue-sharing arrangements, procurement opportunities and equity ownership. Programs such as Indigenous loan guarantees, for example, could help support that participation.
Because many future projects will serve multiple users, PwC argues financing models should also reflect shared benefits. When infrastructure delivers value to industries, governments, communities and households simultaneously, those stakeholders should work together to spread costs and risks.
The third shift focuses on workforce readiness. Canada already faces labour shortages across many skilled trades, and the challenge is expected to intensify as infrastructure spending accelerates.
PwC warns the country does not currently produce enough tradespeople to meet existing demand, let alone future requirements. The report points to international examples that Canada could adapt, including Germany’s dual-track education system that combines professional degrees with trade certifications and Singapore’s specialized technical training institutes.
In addition to expanding domestic training capacity, the report suggests targeted immigration and workforce development initiatives will be necessary to ensure projects can be delivered on time and on budget.
According to the report, the scale of the opportunity is substantial. Resources infrastructure, which includes assets supporting oil, gas, mining and critical minerals development, is expected to attract approximately US$1.6 trillion in investment through 2050, followed by transportation at US$912 billion, power infrastructure at US$605 billion and digital infrastructure at US$237 billion.
