Key Takeaways
- • Julien Eaton, managing director at InfraRed Capital Partners, told the Canadian Investment Review's 2026 Endowment & Foundation Investment Forum that demand for growth-oriented infrastructure has been building for some time and is now being amplified by Canadian federal policy.
- • The federal government's infrastructure strategy, announced in its 2025 budget and launched in April 2026, aims to attract institutional investors while deploying $115 billion of federal spending, according to Benefits Canada.
- • Eaton characterized the shift as an acceleration rather than a rupture, describing a hybrid model in which public policy creates conditions for private capital to participate in increasingly commercial infrastructure assets.
- • Eaton cited the Global Infrastructure Investor Association's pulse survey, which ranked Canada first among the most attractive infrastructure jurisdictions, and said he expects investors to seek more Canadian infrastructure exposure over the near term.
- • InfraRed has shifted since the 2020s toward private-led operational platforms driven by growth rather than government-driven public-private partnerships, which Eaton says supports the diversification case for infrastructure.
Summary
Julien Eaton, a managing director at InfraRed Capital Partners, said during a session at the Canadian Investment Review's 2026 Endowment & Foundation Investment Forum that demand for infrastructure investment, particularly growth-oriented infrastructure, has been building for some time, according to Benefits Canada. He said the underlying drivers of digitalization, energy transition and supply chain resilience remain the same, but Canadian policy is now aligning with and amplifying them.
As announced in its 2025 budget and launched in April 2026, the federal government is seeking to attract institutional investors to infrastructure projects while also looking to deploy $115 billion of federal spending. Eaton described the scale of the announced investment as significant and characterized the development as an acceleration rather than a rupture, with Canada catching up to infrastructure markets that have already advanced further. He emphasized the hybrid nature of the approach, in which public policy creates conditions for private capital to participate in assets that have become increasingly commercial.
Eaton outlined a spectrum of infrastructure investments, with one end resembling the predictable, contracted cash-flow profile of fixed income and the other driven principally by asset-based growth that requires expansion and operational execution. He said capital is increasingly moving toward value-add strategies that seek structural growth while retaining the resilience and defensive attributes of infrastructure. He also cited the Global Infrastructure Investor Association's recent pulse survey, which found Canada tops the list of most attractive jurisdictions for infrastructure investment, supported by a strong institutional framework.
Since InfraRed began investing in Canada in 2008, it has observed the rapid growth of infrastructure as a standalone asset class. In the 2020s, the firm has increasingly focused on private-led operational platforms where growth is a key driver rather than government-driven public-private partnerships. Eaton said this shift underpins the diversification case for infrastructure, as real assets with embedded growth typically behave differently from both fixed income and traditional private equity. He expects investors to seek greater exposure to Canadian infrastructure over the near term.
As announced in its 2025 budget and launched in April 2026, the federal government is seeking to attract institutional investors to infrastructure projects while also looking to deploy $115 billion of federal spending. Eaton described the scale of the announced investment as significant and characterized the development as an acceleration rather than a rupture, with Canada catching up to infrastructure markets that have already advanced further. He emphasized the hybrid nature of the approach, in which public policy creates conditions for private capital to participate in assets that have become increasingly commercial.
Eaton outlined a spectrum of infrastructure investments, with one end resembling the predictable, contracted cash-flow profile of fixed income and the other driven principally by asset-based growth that requires expansion and operational execution. He said capital is increasingly moving toward value-add strategies that seek structural growth while retaining the resilience and defensive attributes of infrastructure. He also cited the Global Infrastructure Investor Association's recent pulse survey, which found Canada tops the list of most attractive jurisdictions for infrastructure investment, supported by a strong institutional framework.
Since InfraRed began investing in Canada in 2008, it has observed the rapid growth of infrastructure as a standalone asset class. In the 2020s, the firm has increasingly focused on private-led operational platforms where growth is a key driver rather than government-driven public-private partnerships. Eaton said this shift underpins the diversification case for infrastructure, as real assets with embedded growth typically behave differently from both fixed income and traditional private equity. He expects investors to seek greater exposure to Canadian infrastructure over the near term.
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