Canada dethrones the US as infrastructure investors lose faith in American political stability

Canada has claimed the top spot as the world's most attractive infrastructure investment market for the first time, displacing the United States in the latest Infrastructure Pulse survey compiled by Alvarez & Marsal in partnership with the Global Infrastructure Investor Association.

The spring 2026 edition of the semi-annual survey, which polls leading institutional infrastructure investors across North America and Europe, paints a picture of a market flush with capital but increasingly cautious about where to put it.

Closed-end infrastructure funds pulled in nearly $289 billion last year (a record) but fundraising is growing more selective, with the top ten fund managers capturing roughly 40 cents of every dollar committed.

Canada's ascent to the summit reflects investor enthusiasm for the country's newly launched "Nation Building" program, which signals a pivot toward infrastructure-led economic growth. The government has committed CA$115 billion in federal infrastructure spending, established a Major Projects Office to fast-track nationally significant projects, and secured renewed commitments from provincial governments. The result is a step-change in institutional confidence that lifted Canada above its southern neighbor for the first time in the survey's six-year history.

However, investor sentiment toward American infrastructure softened between the fourth quarter of 2025 and now, weighed down by political turbulence tied to US military involvement in the Middle East, a 0.9% month-over-month spike in inflation recorded in March 2026, and diminishing expectations for further interest rate cuts. Looming midterm elections in November add another layer of fog. The survey notes the US has registered the highest concerns about political instability among all surveyed regions in four of the last five editions.

Sectoral focus

On the sector side, Battery Energy Storage Systems have, for the first time in the survey's history, been identified as the single most attractive investment opportunity in North America.

The US Energy Information Administration projects that solar and storage together will account for nearly 80% of new grid capacity additions in 2026, with solar contributing 51% and storage 28%. Utilities and independent power producers are piling into both technologies, helped by falling input costs driven by overcapacity in battery manufacturing.

Data centres remain the most coveted asset class in Europe, though the report signals that their political temperature is rising. The construction and financing of large-scale data centre campuses is drawing scrutiny from governments and the public alike, particularly around environmental impact, and the survey notes this dynamic will bear watching in future editions.

Offshore wind tells two very different stories depending on which side of the Atlantic you stand. In the US, the sector remains in turmoil after the leases of all major offshore wind projects under construction were cancelled late last year on national security grounds — a decision later overturned by the courts — before the administration began pushing companies toward fossil fuel generation instead.

Capital deployment

Despite the record fundraising figures, the report warns that deploying capital is becoming more complicated.

Transaction timelines are stretching as the gap between investor interest and completed deals widens. Geopolitical risk — once a background consideration — has moved to the center of how investment decisions are made.

The overriding message from survey respondents is that capital will continue to flow into infrastructure, but on increasingly demanding terms. Assets with regulated or contracted revenue streams, strategic national relevance, and credible delivery pathways are best positioned to attract it. Those dependent on policy goodwill alone face a harder road.