001-48_126_RENEW_SEPT-OCT26_PT - Flipbook - Page 30
PROJECT DELIVERY
MOBILIZING CANADA’S
INFRASTRUCTURE OPPORTUNITY
Rethinking how we fund, build, and collaborate to
accelerate Canada’s edge by Johanne Mullen
MAGINE CANADA’S INFRASTRUCTURE in 2050—not as a collection
of disconnected assets, but as integrated systems. Roads
that access mining regions serve remote defence installations and enhance regional mobility. Rail corridors
that accommodate transmission lines powering both
manufacturing facilities and local communities. Digital
systems woven through every layer.
This future is within reach. A new Oxford Economics
forecast prepared for PwC projects Canada will need $4.7
trillion in infrastructure investments by 2050. (All report
昀椀gures are in 2023 USD.) This includes new and renewed
roads, bridges, and waterworks alongside hospitals, data
centres, and defence facilities, among other structures.
Canada currently ranks fourth globally in annual infrastructure spending at $145 billion. By 2050, that’s projected
to grow to $210 billion annually, a 45 per cent increase that
preserves our position within the top 昀椀ve spending nations.
Building Canada’s infrastructure demands coordination. Governments are investing simultaneously in transit,
housing infrastructure, energy, utilities, trade corridors,
and digital infrastructure. Workforce constraints pose one
of the biggest risks to delivering Canada’s infrastructure
agenda. But solutions exist—targeted training and certi昀椀cation programs, strategic immigration, and more.
Equally critical: reimagining how we build infrastructure. Engaging Indigenous communities as full economic
partners will underpin Canada’s infrastructure buildout
and help our investments deliver broader public bene昀椀ts
beyond private returns alone. At the same time, infrastructure developers and operators have an opportunity
to reinvent how they create, deliver, and capture value.
Advanced technology, including AI, will reshape project
delivery, productivity, and cost competitiveness.
Canada can exceed this forecast. It can also fall short of
it. The di昀昀erence comes down to the moves we make next.
I
Johanne Mullen is a PwC
Canada Deals Partner and
National Leader of the Real
Assets practice.
30—RENEW CANADA – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026
The size and makeup of Canada’s
infrastructure opportunity
The largest share of Canada’s infrastructure investments
will 昀氀ow to the resources sector, reaching $63 billion
annually by 2050. Transportation is the second largest at
$42 billion annually. Social infrastructure (health, aged
care, and education) will reach $33 billion annually.
These three sectors will account for roughly two-thirds of
all Canadian infrastructure spending in 2050.
Defence infrastructure is Canada’s fastest-growing
sector and is projected to grow 389 per cent between
2024 and 2050—a pace that requires modernized defence
procurement approaches. This aligns with Canada’s
commitment to dedicate an additional 1.5 per cent of
GDP to critical defence and security investments. Many
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