PwC warns Canada invests too little of its GDP in infrastructure to keep pace with peers
Canada will need US$4.7tn in infrastructure investment by 2050, and because public budgets cannot close the gap alone, private capital will be essential to fund the buildout.
A new report from PwC Canada built on an Oxford Economics forecas says the country ranks fourth globally in annual infrastructure spending at US$145bn but invests just 6.6 percent of GDP in infrastructure, below the 7.4 percent its high-performing peers commit.
Closing that gap will require an additional US$34bn a year by 2050.
PwC frames the opportunity as one that hinges less on how much Canada spends than on how those investments come together, calling for a shift from planning roads, power grids, and digital networks as separate projects to building them as connected systems.
The report says multi-use infrastructure attracts more diverse capital because cost and risk are shared across multiple users, making projects more investable at a time when public budgets alone cannot close the gap.
For investors, the report points to where the spending will flow.
Resources is Canada’s largest sector at US$1.6tn cumulatively, covering infrastructure that supports the extraction, processing, and transportation of oil, gas, coal, metals, and minerals.
Transportation follows at US$912bn and is projected to grow 48 percent, with significant investment flowing into passenger rail and freight corridors.
Power reaches US$605bn and is projected to grow 57 percent, led by renewables at US$272bn and nuclear at US$86bn, though PwC notes Canada’s nuclear growth of 11 percent trails the US at 17 percent.
Defence is the fastest-growing sector at 389 percent, driven by NATO commitments and the country’s pledge of an additional 1.5 percent of GDP.
Digital infrastructure reaches US$237bn, but the report says Canada is projected to trail the UK and Australia in cumulative data centre investment by 24 to 28 percent despite natural advantages in land, water, renewable power, and climate.
The report outlines new capital structures to fund the buildout, including blended public-private investment and Indigenous communities participating as long-term economic partners through revenue sharing, expanded procurement, and equity ownership, supported by programs such as the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program.
PwC says these approaches are emerging but not yet the norm.
It also flags workforce capacity as a constraint, noting Canada does not produce enough tradespeople to meet current demand, and points to Germany’s dual-track programs and Singapore’s technical institutes as models.
Canada is treating its energy, defence, critical minerals and digital plans as "separate conversations" when they are "one infrastructure challenge," said Johanne Mullen, partner and national leader of real assets at PwC Canada.
She said the country could exceed or miss its US$4.7tn forecast, and that the outcome rests on the funding and delivery decisions made now.
Nochane Rousseau, national managing partner, clients and markets at PwC Canada, said infrastructure is "where that shift becomes physical" as value moves across sector boundaries.
He said the rails, grid connections and digital infrastructure Canada builds over the next 25 years would either accelerate or hold back that change.
