The World of Infrastructure

I’m proud to work at Infrastructure Ontario because of the great people and amazing projects. For the second year in a row, IO was selected as the Agency of the Year for Public-Private-Partnerships in the Americas. We are on a winning streak.

Our leadership in infrastructure is now world renowned. People from over 60 jurisdictions have visited us, looked to us and said : ”How can we do what you do so well?”

In the coming week, Canadian trade commissioners and international companies will meet with leaders in the Canadian industry at the 25th annual Canadian Council for Public Private Partnerships conference. We expect to see representatives from the US, Japan, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, China, the UK and more. This opens up opportunities for government and business partnerships at home and abroad.

In Ontario, using Alternative Financing and Procurement, we brought more than 100 public infrastructure projects forward with around 60 already complete. We struck a balance between keeping infrastructure public while involving the private sector in a way that protects the public interest. Everyone is impressed with 96% on-budget performance in IO's first 51 completed projects. 

The world has taken note of what we are doing. While everyone at IO works exclusively on delivering projects inside Ontario, we like to share our knowledge with other governments. I have been fortunate promote Ontario's leadership in infrastructure.

IO has shared our best practices about infrastructure with US states such as Illinois, Washington, Oregon, Texas, North Carolina, Arkansas, Colorado and Maryland. Just last week we met with a delegation from Kentucky. I offered our best practices and lessons learned as a member of the National Governors Association expert advisory council. Members of the IO team have appeared before the Congressional Sub-Committee on Transportation, the National Conference of State Legislators and US Department of Transportation.  

At a time when we’re trying to build some cross-border relationships, I am excited to be involved as a member of the US-Canada Alumni Advisory Council with the US Consulate in Toronto. As the US market accelerates, companies that have been successful here should be ready to do business in the US, too. The US state-level market could be a massive opportunity for Canadian companies. There are still some challenges south of the border: for example, establishing expert government-side organizations to protect the public interest; understanding the difference between public funding and private financing for infrastructure; aligning legislative budget authorities with contracts; pushing back on protectionism in favour of partnerships.

As much as we like to look south and have a hopeful outlook for a new NAFTA, other opportunities are opening up. Earlier in October I had a special chance to represent Ontario at a business forum in France that was focused on the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). As a result of the trade agreement, public markets on both sides of the Atlantic are an opportunity for Canadian and French business. The Mouvements des Entreprises de France (MEDEF) is educating French companies about the opportunities with Canadian partners. It’s important to do the same for our Canadian firms. 

There's more to come. In November Toronto Region Board of Trade will host its 3rd annual transportation summit. This and other platforms could showcase Ontario's success and leadership in infrastructure, and encourage our companies to create new partnerships and export their world-leading expertise.