New flight path: Canada seeks private investment in airports through long-term concession arrangements

On September 15, at the inaugural Canada Investment Summit, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada intends to “seek private investment through long-term concessions to operate Canada’s four largest airports”. The announcement builds on earlier federal efforts to reform Canada’s airport system, explore alternative ownership models, and attract private capital. While the federal government intends to consult key stakeholders before finalizing its plan, we anticipate that the resulting transaction process will proceed quickly. Investors should monitor this initiative closely and assess how they may participate in the operation of Canada’s established brownfield assets.

What you need to know

• The proposal. Canada plans to attract private capital through long-term concessions to operate its four major airports: Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver International, Montréal-Trudeau, and Calgary International. The federal government will retain ownership of the underlying airport land and assets.
• Investment and reinvestment. The concessions are intended to raise “tens of billions of dollars of capital” to be reinvested in regional airports and local transport infrastructure, while the federal government’s Canada Strong Fund would retain a stake in the future value the arrangements would create.
• Eligibility and outstanding details. Key details of the plan, including the scope of private operational involvement, the award process, financial oversight, and access to revenue-generating tools, have not been released.

Canada’s airport system and the path to private investment

Canada’s National Airport System (NAS) comprises 26 major airports that together handle over 90 percent of the country’s air passenger traffic. Twenty-three are owned by the federal government and are currently operated by not-for-profit, non-share-capital corporations called airport authorities under long-term ground leases. For example, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority operates Toronto’s Pearson International Airport as a designated airport authority under a long-term ground lease with the Government of Canada expiring in 2076.

In recent years, the federal government has signaled a clear shift toward private participation. In March 2025, Transport Canada issued a policy statement clarifying the investment tools available to spur private investment in airports and identifying three avenues for private-sector participation in NAS airports: co-development through subleases, subcontracting airport services, and investment through corporate subsidiaries. Canada continued that effort in Budget 2025, stating that the government would “consider options for the privatization of airports” to support the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of Canada’s airports¹. The Spring Economic Update 2026 later announced that the government was assessing “alternative models of ownership” and would introduce legislation to obtain information necessary to evaluate airport reforms².

The proposal

Against that policy backdrop, Canada will seek private investment through “long-term concessions” to operate the four airports. Under a concession arrangement, a government grants a private-sector investor the right to operate and maintain an existing or brownfield project for a specified period: potentially as long as 99 years. During this period, the investor recoups their investment through user fees, public-agency payments, or other arrangements.

The federal government clarified that it would retain ownership of the underlying airport land and assets. The proposal would apply to Toronto Pearson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport, Montréal-Trudeau International Airport and Calgary International Airport.

Canada says concession proceeds would be reinvested in regional airports, local transportation infrastructure, and other projects, including expanding sovereign broadband infrastructure, while the Canada Strong Fund would maintain a position in the concessions to “retain a stake in the future value” they create.

Outstanding considerations

How Canada’s airport proposal could be structured remains to be determined. Key variables include the length of the concession, eligibility and other award parameters, the scope of the investor’s operational involvement, and price or public-interest requirements. The government has not said whether it will use public bidding or tendering. The agreements are likely to address service levels, public safety and security, passenger costs and employment matters, and may require legislative changes. The scope of airport operations subject to a concession is also unclear.

Prime Minister Carney highlighted that Canadian pension funds already invest in airports globally and that their operational expertise should be brought “home to more directly benefit all Canadians”. Major Canadian pension funds hold stakes in foreign airports. However, the government has not yet indicated what limitations, if any, would apply to private investors seeking to participate in airport operations.

In a Q&A session, Prime Minister Carney noted that regulation and oversight would remain with Transport Canada. A key issue will be whether private investor operators would be permitted to use revenue-generating tools similar to those available to airport authorities and, if so, whether additional financial regulation would apply.

Next steps

The next phase is stakeholder consultation and policy design. While Prime Minister Carney has stated that the federal government will consult in the coming weeks and provide further details, signals suggest the process may advance more swiftly than other federal infrastructure initiatives. The government has reportedly engaged external financial advisors to advise on the sale of the operating rights, and the concession model described by the Prime Minister has precedent in other jurisdictions. Investors and other stakeholders should monitor developments closely, engage early in any consultation opportunities, and assess how they may participate in the resulting transaction process.