Canada opens four largest airports to private long-term concessions

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Tuesday that Canada will open four of its largest airports to private investment through long-term concessions, part of a broader effort to attract capital and redirect federal spending toward smaller regional airports.

The four airports targeted are Toronto Pearson International, Vancouver International, Montréal's Trudeau International, and Calgary International. Under the model, private operators will run the airports through long-term concessions while the federal government retains ownership of the underlying land and assets. Carney said the move will "unlock their true value by bringing in new capital and expertise to their operations and growth," and that revenue from the concessions will be reinvested in infrastructure Canada needs for the next generation.

The National Airports System comprises about two dozen large airports across Canada owned by Transport Canada and leased to not-for-profit airport authorities for operation. Current annual lease fees total $525 million. The government's stated goal is to shift federal spending on major airports' operating costs toward smaller regional airports and other local infrastructure projects, making air travel more affordable in remote and regional communities.

Carney said the government studied airport privatization approaches in other countries before deciding to retain land ownership. "We're getting the benefit of being late to this, if you will, because we've seen transactions that don't work well, and we're going to apply those lessons," he told the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto, where more than 100 of the world's largest investors gathered to discuss projects across Canada.

The privatization interest was signalled in the November budget. A May economic update said the government would introduce legislation to explore the possibility. A Transport Canada memo obtained by CBC via access to information request indicates delays already occurred in lease extension negotiations. The memo stated that a decision to move forward was needed by March 2026 or would "delay the lease extension process by several months into 2027." Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon did not sign the memo until May, more than one month after that target date.