With investment into Canada’s commodities a topic of keen discussion in Canadian society, it may seem surprising to see that the China-Canada Investment Tracker has only recorded three instances of Chinese investment into Canada’s northern territories: two in the Yukon, and one in Nunavut.
It is indeed likely that, given the number of Chinese investments into commodities elsewhere across Canada, the number of Chinese deals relating to projects in the commodity-rich North is much higher than is listed in the Tracker. This discrepancy potentially arises from the Tracker recording the location of the target investment’s headquarters, and not the locations of the headquarter’s properties.
This method of tracking, in turn, is a result of the need to adequately track and verify the investment coming into Canada; for example, a total amount invested may be verifiable for a deal involving a Vancouver-based firm, but the percentage of the deal which flows to projects in the Yukon as opposed to projects in the rest of British Columbia is often not verifiable. In the case of Albertan commodities, as many of their headquarters are located within Alberta as well, there should not be too much of a discrepancy with the amounts invested into Albertan projects. However, given that firms headquartered in Alberta may have projects in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, or the Yukon, it is likely that there is some degree of underreporting for the territories.