Sponsored by Granada Gold

UAE’s $70B for Canada Has Nowhere to Go

Canada has a rare economic embarrassment: a foreign investor says it wants to deploy tens of billions of dollars, but Ottawa’s project pipeline is not ready to take the money.

The mismatch sits at the center of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s attempt to turn Canada into a faster, more independent investment destination. In November 2025, Canada welcomed what it called the United Arab Emirates’ “historic decision” to invest $70 billion in Canada, with discussions focused on critical minerals, energy, ports and artificial intelligence.

Seven months later, the Financial Times reported that Canada’s Major Projects Office told an official UAE delegation in mid-June that it was too early to inject the capital because Canada lacked projects ready for deployment. The FT attributed the account to three officials speaking anonymously.

You can read more on the matter here.

What’s going on?

• Israel Defense Supplier Logged 850K Gaza, Lebanon War Targets, The Guardian Reports (theDeepDive)

• B.C. RCMP seize tonnes of precursor chemicals from homes and shipping containers (CTV)

• Fired EPA Biologists Sue Over Trump Dissent Letter (theDeepDive)

• B.C. to pursue legal action against OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge shooting (Globe)

• Ukraine Claims Its Largest Single-Night Strike on Russia’s Shadow Fleet Yet (theDeepDive)

• US revokes waiver allowing Iranian oil sales after tanker strikes in Strait of Hormuz (FT)

• Is the Trump Curse Real? It Appears Every Team He’s Rooted for in Person Has Lost (theDeepDive)

• Private-Equity Firms Are Sitting on a Nine-Year Backlog (WSJ)

• Did The Hill Accidentally Publish an Obituary-Style Piece on Mitch McConnell? (theDeepDive)

What’s the latest?

• NATO: At the NATO summit, Canada highlighted its plan to buy up to 12 TKMS submarines worth up to $24 billion, while NATO announced billions in new defence contracts, including up to 10 Saab GlobalEye radar aircraft largely built in Canada. Canada also secured eight founding members for its proposed defence bank, launched free trade talks with Türkiye, reaffirmed support for Ukraine, and said it aims to raise defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2029 after reaching NATO’s 2% target last year.

• Trade: Canada’s merchandise trade surplus widened to $4.2 billion in May from $3.4 billion in April as exports rose 0.9% to a record $77.1 billion. Growth was driven by a 16.1% increase in metal ores and non-metallic minerals exports, while imports slipped 0.2% to $72.9 billion; export volumes were flat and import volumes increased 0.4%.

• Politics: Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed 4 new senators, including Conservative MP Richard Martel and Liberal strategist Tom Pitfield, while ending the requirement that Senate appointees be non-partisan. Martel’s appointment creates a House by-election in his Quebec riding, leaves 6 Senate vacancies (with 5 more expected by year-end), and signals a shift toward more politically experienced Senate appointments.

• Real Estate: Statistics Canada found that small-scale investors (owning five or fewer rental properties) still own the largest share of rental housing in most provinces, accounting for 35.9% to 57.1% of assessed rental property value in 2022. Institutional investors remain a small presence in the housing market, owning just 0.1%–0.4% of houses, while rental markets across the 12 regions studied were still considered competitive and non-concentrated, with no statistically significant rent premium for REIT-owned units in 2025.

• Critical Minerals: Canada will invest up to $400 million in Teck Resources’ Trail, B.C. critical minerals facility through the Canada Critical Mineral Accelerator, supporting an up to $850 million expansion. The project aims to double germanium and antimony production, add gallium capacity, preserve 1,400+ jobs, and could give Ottawa rights to part of future output, strengthening supplies for defence, semiconductors, AI, and clean energy.

Inside Canada's Next Top 10 Producer

The stock market and stuff

• Xbox Cuts 3,200 Jobs and Sells Off Four Studios in Its ‘Most Significant Restructure’ Ever (theDeepDive)

• SpaceX Shares Stumble in Nasdaq-100 Debut (WSJ)

• Equinox Unloads Versamet Royalties Stock For $130 Million In Proceeds (theDeepDive)

In the juniors

• Marimaca Copper Extends High-Grade Bornite Zone at Pampa Medina - 6m of 6.11% Cu and 24.0g/t Ag; 40m of 2.04% Cu and 11.1g/t Ag from SPRD-07 (JMN)

• Orezone Guides Casa Berardi to 62,000-67,000 Ounces in Transition Year (theDeepDive)

• K2 Gold Provides Exploration Update on Drill Program at the Mojave Project, California (JMN)

FULL DISCLOSURE: Granada Gold is a client of Canacom Group, the parent company of The Deep Dive. Canacom Group is currently long the equity of Granada Gold. The author has been compensated to cover Granada Gold on The Deep Dive, with The Deep Dive having full editorial control. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security.