Canada Commits to Airport Privatization Through Long-Term Concessions for Its Four Largest Airports

The federal government has now moved from considering airport privatization to committing to it.

In his remarks on September 15, 2026 at the Canada Investment Summit, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that the government "will seek private investment through long-term concessions to operate Canada's four largest airports."

This marks a decisive step beyond the incremental, exploratory posture of earlier announcements, each of which stopped short of a firm commitment and was expressly characterized as being in its "early stages."

The four airports in scope are the Toronto Pearson International Airport, the Vancouver International Airport, the Montréal-Trudeau International Airport and the Calgary International Airport.

The structure the government has selected is a long-term concession model that is similar to the Australian leased-airport approach. The Prime Minister confirmed that, "following best practice in other countries, the government of Canada will retain ownership of the underlying land and assets," while "bringing in new capital and expertise to their operations and their growth" to "unlock their true value."

This privatization of operations with continued public ownership that characterizes Australia's model is contrasted with the outright U.K.-style divestiture of land and assets. The retention of Crown ownership is consistent with the existing Canadian ownership framework, under which the Crown already holds the airport lands and long-term reversionary interests.

The proceeds generated from these privatization initiatives will be used to invest in "infrastructure that Canada needs for the next generation."

The Prime Minister identified specific priorities:

• investment in regional airports to provide better and more affordable regional and remote air connections;
• improvements to the passenger experience;
• new local transportation infrastructure to ease commutes; and
• nation-building projects, including a sovereign broadband backbone connecting Canada with more direct and secure links to Europe and Asia.

He further noted that Canadian pension funds already successfully invest in and manage airports abroad, signaling an intent to attract that institutional expertise domestically to benefit Canadians.

Finally, through the new Canada Strong Fund sovereign wealth vehicle, "Canadians themselves will retain a stake in the future value that's created," aligning with the Fund's role as a co-investor in nation-building projects.