Only 3% of investors plan to cut their Canadian exposure, the lowest of any market
Ninety-four percent of global institutional investors expect to maintain or increase their Canadian exposure over the next three years, the highest share among the eight developed markets evaluated.
Japan followed at 82 percent and the United States at 77 percent, according to Trusted, But Untapped: Canada's Next Competitive Advantage is Investibility, released in September 2026 by the CPP Investments Insights Institute.
Three percent of respondents anticipated reducing exposure to Canada, the lowest figure of any market in the study.
Thirty-eight percent expected to increase capital deployment to Canada, placing the country second to Japan.
Among global pension funds in the sample, 30 percent named Canada their top market for increased deployment.
The report records conviction in Canada running deepest among pension, infrastructure, real-asset, credit and total-portfolio investors.
Expected increases in Canadian deployment rose to 77 percent among Canada-headquartered respondents and 79 percent among investors with significant existing Canadian exposure, against 28 percent of non-Canada-headquartered respondents.
Heart+Mind Strategies administered the survey on behalf of the institute, covering 65 senior investment professionals across 20 countries who manage approximately US$47tn in assets, roughly one-third of estimated global assets under management.
Respondents were informed of the study sponsor and purpose, and the research was therefore not blinded.
Scale and depth of investible opportunities drew an extremely important or absolutely essential rating from 57 percent of respondents, rising to 91 percent once those rating it very important are included.
The report identifies scale and depth of investible opportunity as Canada's greatest weakness.
Sixty-nine percent of investors rated policy stability and predictability extremely important or absolutely essential, and Canada ranked second of the eight markets on that attribute.
Canada also placed second only to the United States on access to sophisticated local investment partners, an attribute rated extremely important or absolutely essential by 35 percent of investors overall.
Canada ranked highest for investibility among institutions managing under US$50bn. Its relative standing declined among institutions managing US$200bn to more than US$500bn.
Among investors attracted to Canadian energy, 59 percent cited risk-return considerations, 59 percent policy-reversal risk, 56 percent regulatory fragmentation and 50 percent scale or liquidity constraints.
In transportation, 70 percent cited risk-return considerations and 60 percent each cited fragmentation and scale.
Sixty-seven percent of investors attracted to digital and AI infrastructure in Canada identified the most acute shortage of investment opportunities at sufficient scale.
Respondents selected energy as an attractive Canadian sector at 49 percent, natural resources at 37 percent, and financial services and fintech and critical minerals at 25 percent each.
Digital and AI infrastructure drew 23 percent as a Canadian strength against 65 percent as a globally attractive sector.
Partner access mattered to 67 percent of respondents expecting their largest increase in Canada, 62 percent of Canada-based respondents and 57 percent of investors with high Canada exposure.
Among the 41 respondents investing in energy transition projects, 93 percent said long-term government-backed offtake agreements would increase their willingness to invest, followed by revenue stabilization mechanisms such as contracts for difference at 90 percent, first-loss capital at 88 percent and tax-policy clarity at 88 percent.
Direct government grants or subsidies drew 76 percent and transition bond issuance 63 percent.
National strategic platforms were the most-used public channel, with 63 percent of investors engaged.
Twenty-two percent rated them most effective and 23 percent said no public platform stood out at all.
