Asian development bank will help lure infrastructure cash to Canada: president
OTTAWA — The head of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank says Canada’s new membership in his multinational organization will create opportunities for Canadian companies abroad and even offer indirect support for Ottawa’s efforts to build bridges, highways and rail lines at home.
The Beijing-based multilateral development bank will bring a number of economic benefits to Canada and lift the international profile of the Trudeau government’s own $35-billion infrastructure bank among investors, Jin Liqun said in an interview.
The Canada Infrastructure Bank, a key component of the Liberal government’s economic growth strategy, seeks to use public funds as leverage to attract billions more in private investment for major infrastructure projects.
Last year, Ottawa committed $256 million over five years in its budget plan to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which now has 84 members. The actual budget legislation, however, showed that the federal government left room to dedicate as much as $470 million to the bank.