Ottawa creates a one-stop shop for foreign investors.

TORONTO • The federal government will spend $218 million during the next five years to create a new agency that will serve as a one-window international hub to lure investment to Canada.

Chrystia Freeland, Minister of International Trade, said in a speech in Toronto Monday the hub is necessary because foreign investors want to deal with Canada’s federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments through a single “concierge” like service window.

During the Liberal government’s first year in office, Freeland said several investors have complained that it is too difficult to deal with multiple levels of government on different points of regulation or policy. Sometimes a decision to invest tens of millions can hinge on the resolution of a single issue, such as immigration for the investor’s senior executives.

“What they have told us, is that it is quite hard to navigate the spaghetti of different federal government ministries, of what provinces and territories are doing, and what cities are doing,” Freeland said. “What companies were looking for is a single-window approach. When I say concierge services, I mean someone who could guide them through all the things that are attractive about investing in Canada.”

The government wants to hire a CEO and to have the new federal agency up and running within one year. Besides hiring staff, the government still needs to work out how the new agency will work alongside existing foreign investment promotion operations set up by provinces and municipalities.

“This new hub is an additional resource for provinces and territories and municipalities across Canada,” she said. “We’ve worked very closely with them in designing it so far . ... It’s very much about partnership.”

Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced the government’s intention to create the agency during the fall economic statement, but didn’t attach a price tag to the initiative.

Freeland’s announcement gives the agency a budget. Now that the hub is in rampup mode, she said she hopes to receive applications for the CEO position.

Freeland told the Board of Trade that Canada is in excellent position among the G7 nations because it is “bucking the trend” of populism and nativism that has led other countries to sour on trade agreements.

Donald Trump, U.S. president-elect, ran his successful campaign on either renegotiating or pulling the U.S. out of its multilateral trade agreements, and the United Kingdom last June voted to leave the European Union. Canada, on the other hand, has expanded its trade relationships, most recently through the signing of CETA, the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.

“There is real economic opportunity in the fact that we have broad support in Canada for our open society,” Freeland said. “It’s a tremendous moment to go out and promote Canada as the most attractive destination for foreign direct investment in a very turbulent world.”