Over 1,000 protesters marched through downtown Toronto on Monday evening in opposition to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s investment summit.
As his government geared up to pitch projects from LNG pipelines to gold mines, hundreds of protesters were downtown in hopes of crashing the night’s opening gala.
Carney welcomed major investors to the invite-only event on Monday. As part of his goal to draw $1 trillion in investment in Canada over the next five years, his government is working to finance major fossil fuel infrastructure projects alongside clean energy developments.
On Monday night, Carney was at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) for the event’s official kickoff, which was closed to the media. Ottawa describes the summit as an opportunity to attract foreign investment, thus making Canada’s economy more competitive and less reliant on the United States.
But just a few blocks away, Nikolas Barry-Shaw, an organizer from the advocacy group Council of Canadians, opened the demonstration by calling Carney’s event a “privatization summit, not an investment summit.”
The current scene at the protest against Carney’s financial summit. Heavy police presence and barricade. @nationalobserver.com
— Cloe Logan (@cloelogan.bsky.social) September 14, 2026 at 7:48 PM
The crowd initially gathered at Nathan Phillips Square near City Hall. Indigenous leaders, environmental groups, unions and more were in attendance, rallying against their government opening up public resources to the world’s wealthiest while prioritizing fossil fuel expansion and arms manufacturing.
Addressing the crowd, Wet’suwet’en hereditary Chief Na’Moks said, “When you have a government that is inviting all these foreign investors to come in … it is up to you to say get out and fuck all the way off.”
Some protesters told Canada’s National Observer they were concerned that Carney has failed to address the environmental crisis and account for Indigenous land rights as he works towards economic expansion. The summit’s “pitchbook,” a copy of which was published by advocacy group Clean50, presented investors with 167 projects in eight categories, including 11 in oil and gas, 63 in mining and metals and 31 in renewable energy.
One attendee, Marianna Tzabiras, said, “I understand that Carney needs to figure out the economy and stuff, but I’m not hearing him have a proper plan.”
“It concerns me that [foreign investors] are not interested in the future of Canada. They’re interested in making profits,” she said.
“There’s a robbery going on right now … stealing natural resources, selling off airports and other public infrastructure,” said Barry-Shaw. On Tuesday morning, Carney confirmed he is looking to finance and privatize Canada’s four largest airports.
The crowd marched a few blocks through downtown Toronto, the sun setting as they chanted through the streets. They were met with metal barricades and nearly 300 police officers, blocking off access to the AGO. Protesters yelled “the billionaires are in the AGO” and “we don’t want you here.”
Police stood behind the barricades, and officers on horseback were further back. Chief Na’Moks stood close to the barricade, facing the line of officers. One protester burned sage underneath the barricade, wafting the smoke towards the police.
For demonstrators and Indigenous land defenders like Kakeka ThunderSky, an Anishinaabe organizer from the Poplar River First Nation in Winnipeg, the provincial and federal governments haven’t done enough to ensure Indigenous communities are meaningfully consulted before projects are fast-tracked.
“No matter how much Carney redwashed his austerity and military agenda, we will defend the land and the water. We will assert our sovereignty and continue to push back on the Carney agenda.”
