Under Michael Sabia, the Canada Infrastructure Bank got busy. Now it needs to get shovels in the ground

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Michael Sabia has a well-deserved reputation as a fixer. We’re about to find out if eight short months was enough time to work his magic as chair of the struggling Canada Infrastructure Bank, as Mr. Sabia departs to become deputy minister of Finance.

The infrastructure bank was spinning its wheels when Mr. Sabia arrived in April. The federal Liberals launched the Crown corporation in 2017 to much fanfare. But previous leaders largely failed to get shovels in the ground, despite $35-billion of committed capital and a country that is crying out for new roads, bridges and public projects.

For Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the infrastructure bank threatened to become another example of a government that promised much yet delivered little. In the most recent election campaign, both the NDP and Conservatives promised to shut it down.

Trudeau names Michael Sabia as next deputy minister of Finance Canada

Failing to get projects built is becoming a national nightmare for Canada. Boston Consulting Group published a survey in January (Full disclosure: The Globe and Mail was a media partner.) that showed the quality of the country’s infrastructure is “mediocre” – ranking 14th out of 28 industrial countries. Experts’ estimates on our “infrastructure deficit,” or the gap between what the country is spending and what’s required, average between $110-billion and $270-billion.

Enter Mr. Sabia, a 67-year-old who has spent a career lighting fires under bureaucrats. He championed the infrastructure bank’s concept of public-private partnerships while chief executive at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. The day he arrived, the founding CEO at the infrastructure bank, Pierre Lavallée, departed.

Within weeks of Mr. Sabia taking the helm, and in the midst of a pandemic, the Toronto-based infrastructure bank got busy.

First, it backed a rail link between Calgary, the city’s airport and Banff National Park. That sort of project, with unpredictable potential revenues but a clear public benefit, is just what proponents had in mind for the bank.

Then Mr. Sabia took the stage with Mr. Trudeau in October to announce $10-billion of focused, short-term projects, including $2.5-billion for renewable power, $2-billion earmarked for rural broadband and $1.5-billion for irrigating farmlands. Shortly after, the bank made a $407.5-millon commitment to build reservoirs and pipelines that will bring water to 202,700 acres of Alberta farmland, another project that struggled to attract private sector backing because revenues are difficult to forecast.

At the end of October, Mr. Sabia landed Ehren Cory, the former Infrastructure Ontario CEO, as the new CEO for the Crown corporation. Mr. Cory, a former McKinsey consultant, built a track record at the province for getting projects done. The infrastructure bank reports to Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Catherine McKenna. On Monday, she said: “Ehren will work closely with the existing management team and the strong, independent board of directors we have in place to lead the charge at the CIB as it continues to invest in projects.”

Installing a new leader may be Mr. Sabia’s last act at the infrastructure bank, as federal legislation meant to ensure the independence of the organization prohibits federal civil servants and politicians from serving on the board.

There are three leading internal contenders to be the new chair of a Crown corporation, according to sources The Globe agreed not to name because they are not authorized to speak on behalf of the infrastructure bank.

The top candidates are board members Jane Bird, senior business adviser at law firm Bennett Jones and former CEO of the company that built Vancouver’s airport transit link, entrepreneur Stephen Smith, founder of mortgage lender First National Financial LP, and Patricia Youzwa, former CEO of SaskPower. On Monday, a spokesperson at the infrastructure bank declined to comment on its leadership.

However, to get things done in government, it is essential to have friends in high places. Mr. Sabia’s move to Finance Canada means the infrastructure bank has both a powerful deputy minister at Finance and Ms. McKenna as champions. The task now is simple: Back smart projects and get them built.

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