Canada suddenly has a rather luxurious problem. Some of the world’s biggest investors want to spend money here, and the country needs somewhere useful to put it.
That was one of the clearest messages coming out of the Canada Investment Summit. BlackRock’s Larry Fink argued that Canada has long been an attractive destination, yet investors have struggled to find enough large deals.
Blackstone’s Jon Gray went even further, describing Canada as something of a sleeping economic giant, loaded with critical minerals, natural gas, hydro power, and the ingredients needed for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
Now comes the expensive part: actually building everything.
Source: Getty Images
Follow the money
That helps explain why Canada’s banks just committed nearly $325 billion in new financing for Canadian businesses and infrastructure. TD Bank pledged $150 billion over five years, Scotiabank more than $100 billion, Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO) $70 billion over 10 years, CIBC $2 billion for smaller defence-related businesses, and RBC nearly $1.5 billion for high-growth technology companies.
The banks could become the toll collectors on Canada’s investment boom. A $325 billion announcement doesn’t mean banks are about to shovel that amount out the door. Meanwhile, banks can still make money by lending, underwriting debt, advising corporations, and providing the treasury services enormous projects require.
That becomes particularly interesting when investors at the summit are essentially saying give us investable projects and we’ll bring the money. BlackRock manages roughly $500 billion invested in Canada already. Blackstone said it has around $50 billion here. Temasek’s representative also specifically pointed to Canada’s banking system and domestic capital markets as reasons international investors can feel comfortable putting more money into the country.
So investors looking through Canadian bank stocks shouldn’t necessarily buy the bank with the biggest pledge. I’d rather own one positioned to collect from several parts of the investment cycle.
Why BMO gets my money
BMO isn’t merely a mortgage-and-chequing-account business. It operates Canadian and U.S. personal and commercial banking, wealth management and, importantly here, BMO Capital Markets.
That gives it several ways to make money if Canada’s investment ambitions turn into actual construction. Its $70 billion commitment targets precisely the areas dominating the summit. They include energy and transportation infrastructure, mining and critical minerals, artificial intelligence (AI) computing, defence, and security.
Better yet, the underlying business already has momentum. BMO’s third-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) rose 22% year over year to $3.96, while adjusted return on equity (ROE) improved to 14%. Canadian personal and commercial banking adjusted profit increased 15%, helped by higher revenue and lower provisions for credit losses.
Not bargain bin
There’s a catch. BMO shares have climbed roughly 36% in 2026 and recently traded around $242. The stock goes for about 15 times forward earnings, while its $6.84 annualized dividend provides a yield around 2.8%. Investors interested in Canadian dividend stocks have certainly seen higher bank yields.
The bigger risk is that enthusiasm runs ahead of reality. Governments can announce projects considerably faster than Canada can build them, while BMO still carries meaningful exposure to the U.S. economy and credit cycle. Its $70 billion target also stretches across 10 years, so investors shouldn’t pencil the entire amount into next year’s earnings.
Bottom line
Still, that’s precisely why I like BMO here. I’m not buying it because Ottawa produced a very large number on a very large stage. I’m buying a bank already growing earnings that could sit between global capital and the Canadian companies suddenly hungry for it.
If Canada really is waking up as an investment giant, somebody is going to have to finance the alarm clock.
