MONTREAL — A former director of U.S. President Donald Trump's transition team says Canadian pension funds are well-placed to help rebuild America's aging infrastructure.
Dan Slane says funds such as Quebec's Caisse de depot have the expertise and deep pockets to partner with local U.S. funds to invest in projects such as airports, hospitals and transit.
Slane, who is not involved in the U.S. administration, told an infrastructure conference in Montreal on Wednesday that he was disappointed that Trump didn't provide more details in his speech to Congress on Tuesday evening about his US$1-trillion infrastructure project, including how much would be funded by taxpayers.
However, he later told reporters that locking down global funding isn't a problem, noting that sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Japan and China are all looking to invest in projects.
Slane says he met with the Caisse de depot Tuesday to discuss its interest in expanding its global infrastructure investments.
He says infrastructure is the best way for Trump to achieve his goal of creating millions of well-paid jobs for Americans, especially those lacking the skills required in modern manufacturing.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau says he expects Canadian investment funds will be attracted to infrastructure projects on both sides of the border and will take advantage of the federal government's proposed infrastructure bank.
Ottawa is contributing $35 billion to the bank and expects to release details soon.
