After clocking in two days of closed-door pre-sitting strategizing with his front bench team in Banff last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to spend the next few days making the rounds at the inaugural Canada Investment Summit, which, as Canadian Press reports, is expected to bring “hundreds of global and domestic investors with trillions of dollars in assets under management” to Toronto for two days of high-level pitches and presentations. (Monday through Tuesday)

“Carney, cabinet members, premiers and other Canadian business leaders will be there with lists of major projects across the country,:” the wire service notes.

“Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she’s got a list of 34 proposed projects she’ll be shopping to investors at the summit; Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe plans to pitch his provinces’ energy, critical mineral, defence and agriculture sectors. New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said she will be pushing multiple projects including a port expansion, a data centre in Lorneville, and a rehabilitation project of a power plant known as the Mactaquac lifetime achievement project.”

Although no official schedule for the two-day event has been released, the Globe and Mail reported last week that Carney “will open the summit’s main program … with a keynote speech” on Monday, which will include “a fireside chat with Deborah Orida, chief executive officer of the $321-billion Public Sector Pension Investment Board, according to an agenda circulated to attendees,” the paper reported.

According to Be Giant contributor Stephen Maher, Carney “will be joined by a serious sales force – all the premiers, John Graham, CEO of the CPP Investments, Deborah Orida, CEO of PSP Investments, and former prime minister Stephen Harper, who is expected to give the closing address.”

As per his daily itinerary, Carney is scheduled to speak to “Canadian business leaders” at a “welcome reception” for summit participants on Sunday evening, and will also make the rounds at an “event to celebrate the 51^st Toronto International Film Festival.”

Carney to address European Parliament amid reports that Canada, EU negotiating closer trade, security ties

Shortly after the summit wraps up, Carney will travel to Strasbourg, France, for a high-level session of the European Parliament, where, in addition to attending European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s yearly State of the European Union address — which, as CBC News notes, “is seen as one of the most important political events of the year in Europe” — he’ll also get the chance to speak directly to European parliamentarians about his ongoing push to “strengthen Canada’s ties with the EU in trade, investment, and security,” as per the official advisory from his office.

Last week, Bloomberg News reported that Canada and the European Union “are working toward a new, all-encompassing relationship that will range from trade to security, as the transatlantic partners seek to build a new alliance to offset the global power politics dominated by the U.S. and China,” with von der Leyen, “the top executive of the EU … expected to announce the plans” during her speech, which will take place on Sept. 16, with Carney due to deliver his own address the following day.

“Carney’s government has made a deeper EU partnership a top priority and is actively looking at everything short of actual membership, said a Canadian official who spoke on the condition of anonymity,” Bloomberg noted.

“The discussions are particularly focused on ‘strategic capabilities,’ such as cooperation on defense, space exploration and scientific research.”

In fact, Carney “is exploring whether his country could become an ‘associate member’ of the bloc,” according to Reuters, which cites an exclusive weekend report from the Wall Street Journal.

“The EU, which has not ‌been flexible about membership rules in the past, is open to the idea of granting Canada a yet to be created status of associate membership, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed officials ​both from the EU and Canada.”

As per the WSJ, “Canada and ​the EU are discussing ways to let Canada’s goods, services and workers involved ​in strategic supply chains such as energy, AI, defence and critical minerals move freely, thus effectively ‌shifting ⁠the EU border,” and “are also talking about laying underwater cables, jointly constructing data centres, cloud storage and new satellite networks and infrastructure to ship Canadian energy to the EU,” Reuters notes.

Before heading back to Canada, Carney will also make a quick stop in Liverpool for his first face-to-face meeting with his newly installed United Kingdom counterpart, Andy Burnham, to “discuss priorities for the Canada-UK relationship, specifically related to defence and security, energy, artificial intelligence, and critical minerals,” as per Carney’s office.

Also out and about this week: Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald joins Farm Credit Canada officials, as well as London-area Liberal MPs Peter Fragiskatos and Arielle Kayabaga, at the Arva Flour Mill, which bills itself as the “Canada’s oldest commercial flour mill,” to share the details of new “investments” under the newly released National Food Security Strategy that, as per the advisory, “will strengthen domestic food production and processing, support the development of infrastructure and technology, and improve food affordability and reliability for Canadians.” (Monday p.m.)

Elsewhere on the southwestern Ontario ministerial circuit, Women and Gender Equality Minister Rechie Valdez drops by Food Banks Mississauga to “highlight” new federal support “advancing menstrual equity and making life more affordable for communities across Canada.” (Monday a.m.)

Rounding out the travelling roster, as part of an ongoing bid to “better understand the state of food security in Canada, barriers to food access in diverse communities and how federal policies and programs can be strengthened to support a secure and sustainable food system,” members of the SENATE AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY COMMITTEE will be spending two days in Saskatoon for a “fact-finding mission” that, as per the notice, will include meetings with “stakeholders from across the food supply chain, including food access organizations, agri-food innovators and researchers,” along with “facility tours to gain first-hand insight into challenges and opportunities related to food security, resilience and innovation.” (Monday through Tuesday)