Canada appoints Dominic Barton, Gurinder Grewal to lead Invest in Canada

The appointments were announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday as Ottawa advances its goal of catalysing C$1 trillion in total investment in Canada over the next five years.

Barton, who will serve as chair for three years on a part-time basis, brings more than three decades of experience at McKinsey & Company, including nine years as global managing partner.

He is also chair of Rio Tinto and LeapFrog Investments and previously served as Canada’s ambassador to China from 2019 to 2021.

Grewal, who will serve as CEO for five years on a full-time basis, is the founder and managing partner of MEM Growth Partners. He previously spent more than a decade at Advent International, where he was a partner and co-head of its industrials, infrastructure and energy businesses.

Carney said Barton and Grewal would help attract investment to sectors including energy, critical minerals, artificial intelligence and infrastructure.

"Dominic Barton and Gurinder Grewal have the experience and ambition Canada needs." Carney said in a statement adding that Invest in Canada would play a key role in building a "stronger, more independent, more resilient Canadian economy."

The government said the agency will work with provincial, territorial, Indigenous and municipal partners, as well as the Major Projects Office, to connect international investors with Canadian projects.

Carney also thanked outgoing chair Karl Tabbakh for his three-year term. Tabbakh will remain on Invest in Canada’s board to support the leadership transition and oversee the next phase of the organisation.

The government said foreign direct investment in Canada reached C$1.6 trillion at the end of 2025, up 6.9% from the previous year. FDI inflows totalled C$96.8 billion in 2025, the highest annual level since 2007.

Ottawa said its investments and incentives over five years, totalling about C$280 billion, are expected to help generate more than C$1 trillion in total investment from public, private and institutional partners.

Invest in Canada, established in 2018 under the Invest in Canada Act, is the federal agency responsible for attracting and promoting foreign direct investment.