Canada needs to invest in nature as infrastructure
In spring 2026 Canada announced $25-billion Canada Strong Fund, designed to seed key infrastructure projects whose goal is to ensure prosperity and sovereignty for the future generations. Nature should be seen as part of the core infrastructure. From the capital allocation perspective, nature finance could be structured akin to traditional infrastructure investments: high upfront capital, and fixed returns over a long-term period. Equally, investing in Canada’s vast natural assets would attract global capital, which over long-term is looking for countries that have mitigated the cascading risks of biodiversity loss. This in turn would enhance the performance of the contemplated grey infrastructure projects, creating higher returns for all Canadians.
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Parks+
What if every neighbourhood in Canada has a Park that brings community together, preserves biodiversity and integrates nature solutions for climate resilience? In addition, what if those parks are owned by Community themselves so they could govern them as well as redistribute the financial gains these parks bring to all the private stakeholders? This is what Parks + proposes. It is an initial design proposal for Community Endowment Funds – new ownership and governance mechanisms for Parks+. It is also a blueprint what what Canadian urban parks could look like everywhere.
TMU Ecological Design Lab, and TMU Masters of Urban Development, which collectively produced this report for Ombrello Solutions.
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Introduction to Civic Assets
Canadian cities are breaming with Civic Infrastructure. Every neighbourhood contains cherished civic assets that bring joy and value. But what are Civic Assets? What makes them unique and vital? This report provides exaplanations and showcases examples from around the world.