Canadian airports can anchor a global infrastructure champion

If you are reading this while killing time waiting for a flight in one of Canada’s major airports, you are sitting in what should be the country’s next global corporate champion.

The federal government’s long-overdue decision to sell concessions in four major domestic hubs – Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal – promises to be a win for passengers and taxpayers. After years of analysis paralysis, Prime Minister Mark Carney has an opportunity to improve the passenger experience while raising billions of dollars.

The ultimate goal in this exercise, clearly visible to a Prime Minister who started his career as a Goldman Sachs banker advising governments on privatizations, should be creating a private-sector operator of Canadian airports that does business around the world.

At least one domestic pension fund, Montreal-based PSP Investments, is already well down this runway.