Invest Ontario is Ontario’s investment attraction agency, focused on supporting business expansion and foreign direct investment in the province. It works with companies and investors across sectors including technology, manufacturing, life sciences and clean energy.
How would you describe the role Invest Ontario is playing today as competition for global investment intensifies?
Five years ago, the Ford government decided Ontario needed to compete far more aggressively for investment. We modeled ourselves on agencies in U.S. jurisdictions and built Invest Ontario to target strategic investments in sectors with the greatest impact: manufacturing, life sciences, technology and automotive. The impetus for creating Invest Ontario was the increasing competition for investment, both domestically and internationally. Since then, our priorities have evolved in response to global turbulence. Alongside advanced manufacturing and automotive, we are now placing an enormous focus on AI, critical minerals and the defense sector. We are also seeing growing activity in quantum computing, life sciences and modular housing, areas that were not historically core to Ontario’s economy.
This adaptability reflects not just competition, but the reality of global economic shifts and where future opportunities lie. At Invest Ontario, we do rigorous analysis. We identify companies we want in Ontario and assess what it will take for them to choose Ontario over jurisdictions like Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, Ireland or Singapore. We benchmark against other jurisdictions, assess incentives, and ensure companies understand our advantages: talent, clean energy, proximity to the U.S. and access to global markets. In years past, we may have rested on our laurels as the biggest and strongest province; now we are competing and winning and positioning ourselves as a premier destination.
Canada’s reputation for stability is increasingly translating into investment across AI, advanced manufacturing and critical minerals. What is driving that momentum?
In 2026, Canada ranked second on the Kearney FDI Index for the fourth consecutive year, and Ontario continues to be recognized as a top jurisdiction for investment.
Ontario is a beacon of stability in a sea of turmoil.
In eight years, Premier Ford has not raised a single tax and has reduced several, including workers’ compensation taxes, creating a very pro-business environment. We have more than 94,000 STEM graduates annually coming out of strong universities, and we are increasingly linking universities directly to create a pipeline of talent. We also have an immigration system which brings in the best and brightest on an annual basis and remains open in contrast to other jurisdictions.
We have clean energy, with 93% of Ontario’s energy non‑emitting, along with access to abundant fresh water. Canada and Ontario are also the beneficiaries of free trade agreements that allow companies to produce here and export tariff‑free into the U.S., Europe, Korea, Japan and other markets. Ultimately, this is not just a balance sheet decision for companies. It is about where they want to grow their business, raise families and build for the long term — and Ontario offers that environment. Canada has both the blessing and curse of being humble. Canadians are respected globally, and that is part of why people want to live and invest here. At the same time, that humility is changing. At Invest Ontario, we roll up our sleeves and compete directly with jurisdictions like, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ohio and Ireland. We do not go into these discussions to lose. We go in to win, and we are winning. In the past five years, we have been responsible for attracting and supporting nearly $14.5 billion in investment and more than 13,110 jobs - jobs that support households across the province.
Ontario is positioning itself as more than a source of financial incentives alone. What does Invest Ontario’s support look like in practice once a company decides to invest?
It is not exclusively about financing. What we are signaling is that Ontario will create the conditions necessary for businesses to succeed. Invest Ontario provides a white-glove service: helping companies find sites that meet their needs - in terms of energy, location and access to talent. We work with municipalities on permitting and coordinate closely with federal counterparts to ensure companies can access the right programs and supports. We bring together municipalities, provincial ministries and federal partners to support companies over the long term. We do not hand over funding and walk away. We continue to work with companies on training, partnerships with universities and future growth.
Ferrero is a strong example. We worked with them on their first investment, then their second, and supported related investments tied to their ecosystem. They now employ nearly 1,000 people in Brantford. Other examples include Jungbunzlauer in Niagara, Asahi Kasei in Port Colborne, where we supported their work to meet growing demand for lithium-ion battery separators;, and Northern Transformer in Innisfil, where we helped them expand their production of liquid-filled transformers, a critical equipment used in the construction of high-voltage power transmission networks, Chapman’s Ice Cream is another example - a family-run company that expanded in Ontario and, during COVID, transformed its production lines to produce ventilators.
Ontario has emerged as a major player in the EV and battery supply chain. How significant has that transformation been, and what gives the province a lasting advantage?
Ontario took a highly strategic approach to the EV supply chain. We broke it down into its components — batteries, cathodes, anodes, lithium separators and copper foil — and identified the leading companies in each area. We have landed Volkswagen’s PowerCo battery plant and Stellantis partnership with LG. We have also worked with Asahi and continue pursuing other critical components like copper foil.
Our strategy is “mines to mobility.” Ontario has cobalt, nickel and lithium, and are connecting those resources through processing, battery production and EV manufacturing. Ontario is already the second-largest automobile producer in North America, with five OEMs and thousands of parts suppliers. That existing ecosystem provides a major advantage — you cannot build that from scratch.
Canada’s competitiveness agenda increasingly depends on provincial execution. Where does Ontario fit into that picture, and what gives you confidence in its ability to deliver?
In my career as a public servant, I have never seen greater alignment between the Province of Ontario and the federal government. Priorities such as protecting jobs, advancing defense, developing critical minerals, AI and data centers are fully aligned. We work closely with federal counterparts on projects on a regular basis. Much of Canada’s ambition around sovereignty, resilience and market diversification is realized in Ontario. This is where these investments are actually executed — this is where things get built.
What gives me confidence is the support of the Government of Ontario. When we raise issues – whether related to skills, zoning, transportation or funding, we know the government has our back. The number one priority is job creation and retention, and protecting the economy, remain the top priorities. I am not selling a bag of rocks; I am presenting a tremendous opportunity.
What are the biggest bottlenecks holding projects back today? What impact is that uncertainty having on investment decisions?
The greatest inhibitor of business decisions is uncertainty. Ontario and Canada are working to provide stability, but when tariffs shift week to week and companies cannot predict costs for steel or aluminum, that creates hesitation.
One of the things we are waiting for is the announcements at the federal level on defense procurement — for submarines, frigates and fighter jets. Those decisions will be seismic in terms of their implications and reverberations in the economy, because they will all have significant industrial offset benefits, which means companies from Korea, Germany, Sweden or the U.S. will need to create industry in Canada in return for getting those procurement contracts. The submarine contract alone is north of $60 billion, and we stand ready to capitalize on that opportunity.
When companies choose Ontario, what are they typically focused on first? What factors matter most in the decision-making process?
Oftentimes, our Agency is defined by the quantum of support that we offer to a company, but the truth of the matter is that many companies come in with criteria that are very different from the dollar figure. A number of European companies have come in and said, “We want to come to your jurisdiction because you have one of the cleanest energy grids.”
First and foremost, it’s the talent we offer. AI, life sciences and tech, sectors where the jobs created require smart people, and we have access to them — a growing pool supported by outstanding universities like McMaster, Waterloo and the University of Toronto. We also sit in the middle of Canada with access across North America, and we have the infrastructure in place - highways, rail, air, as well as access to the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway.
AI is increasingly becoming an infrastructure and competitiveness conversation rather than just a technology story. How is Ontario approaching that shift?
We are a global leader in AI, whether it’s through our STEM graduates and our universities, but AI is not just an AI lab — it is about the application of AI. We recently announced AI‑driven research partnerships with Sanofi and Roche, using AI to make better health decisions and improve outcomes.
In places like Kitchener-Waterloo, automation centers are using AI to drive dramatically better industrial processing, while companies like Xanadu and Waabi are advancing quantum computing and autonomous transportation. We don’t look at AI as an independent unit, but at how it is applied across various sectors, including manufacturing, pharma, automotive and agri‑food.
What does Ontario need to get right now to stay competitive? How significant is the current opportunity to secure long-term leadership in strategic sectors?
We need continued investment in infrastructure and mobility, but we also need to keep people here and gainfully employed. My job is to make sure we are landing those investments in tech, life sciences and critical minerals so companies like Sanofi, Roche, AstraZeneca, Xanadu and Microsoft continue choosing Ontario
These investments take time. Toyota made a decision to invest here roughly 50 years ago, and today it operates one of its best‑performing facilities in Ontario. The foundations - talent, energy, infrastructure and political stability are not going to change anytime soon. This is a jurisdiction where companies make investments for the long term. We had an Austrian timber company invest in St. Thomas with a 100‑year vision. We are not a flash in the pan.
