Recently, International Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced the launch of Invest in Canada, a new government agency tasked with promoting Canada as an investment destination.
That makes Minister Champagne the new salesperson-in-chief of a product that hasn't been selling very well. While the Canadian economy had a good run in 2017, this masked the fact that foreign direct investment hit its lowest level since 2010. The rollercoaster ride of the NAFTA renegotiations has exacerbated the problem, since any investor counting on Canadian investments as a way to access the broader North American market will understandably be taking a wait-and-see approach.