Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Nearly 1,000 participants have gathered for the 5th edition of the Sustainable Finance Summit, organized by Finance Montréal and held at New City Gas on May 13 to 15.
The Summit highlights the key players in finance, economics, climate, and biodiversity who are mobilizing to deeply transform finance in order to address environmental and social challenges. The summit serves as a catalyst for change in the transition toward a low-carbon and just economy.
The growth of the Sustainable Finance Summit over the past five years reflects the leadership of Québec’s financial ecosystem, which has climbed the ranks of global finance to become North America’s leading hub for sustainable finance, according to the Global Green Finance Index 15.
“For five years, Finance Montréal has pursued a clear ambition: to make Montréal and Québec a North American leader in sustainable finance,” said Jacques Deforges, Executive Director of Finance Montréal. “Thanks to sustained collective efforts, we now play a central role in rewriting the global financial narrative. The nearly 1,000 participants at this 5th edition of the Sustainable Finance Summit and the richness of its programming reflect the commitment and motivation of our financial ecosystem—essential assets for accelerating this transformation, despite headwinds.”
Key takeaways from the 2025 Summit
This year’s Summit explores how finance can be reimagined to respect planetary boundaries. It also serves as a platform for several important announcements that demonstrate the financial community’s commitment to climate, biodiversity, and social justice:
- Business Future Pathways is a new initiative supported by a financial advisory committee composed of senior leaders from major financial institutions, pension funds, and Canadian asset managers. It aims to bridge the gap between investors and companies in developing credible climate transition plans. More information is available here.
- Corporate Knights unveiled a new study in its series Climate Dollars, which shows that the east-west interconnection of the electrical grid holds more strategic value in Canada than in the U.S. or other regions. A coast-to-coast connection could reduce capital costs associated with decarbonization by over $100 billion, for an investment of just $35 billion.
- Investi, a family of investment funds created to support Québec’s sustainable finance ecosystem and launched in 2023 by Innocap and Finance Montréal, announced the first two asset managers selected to manage the Investi Private Placements L.P. Fund. More information is available here.
- Écotech Québec published the first Clean Technology Financing Map for Québec, a report developed in partnership with the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Finance Montréal. It provides a clear and structured overview of the financial ecosystem supporting cleantech. More information is available here.
- FinDev Canada, Canada’s development finance institution, announced a €20 million investment in Amethis Fund IIIto support mid-sized companies in Sub-Saharan Africa. [More information here]
Prioritizing social dialogue
Since its inception, the Sustainable Finance Summit has stood out as an unconventional business conference. One of its founding ideas is the necessity of bringing together actors from all areas of civil society in order to transform finance to serve the needs of all communities. That’s why the Summit features powerful artistic performances, such as the Black Hole Experience by Age of Union and Pop-up Assemblies by Porte Parole.
Finance Montréal is also partnering this year with the Maison de l’innovation sociale, which works to support projects with positive social and environmental impact. The Maison will host its first benefit evening at the Summit’s closing on May 15, where it will present the inaugural Social Innovation Personality Awards.
“The Sustainable Finance Summit is a true driver of engagement for the sector. Bringing together key players from near and far to Montréal to reflect and exchange ideas is essential to finding concrete, tailored solutions to today’s challenges,” said Geneviève Morin, President and CEO, Fondaction. “We must avoid falling into the traps of siloed thinking and self-interest. The actors mobilized to transform finance are ready to go further, and the Summit gives them the tools and connections to do so—together. Now more than ever, we must stay the course toward a sustainable world.”
The event attracts over 300 banks, credit unions, lenders, investors and fintechs.
“We are honoured to participate in the 2025 Finance Montreal Sustainable Finance Summit. Finance Montreal plays a pivotal role in advancing sustainability across North America by fostering collaboration among investors, NGOs, and corporations,” said Fate Saghir, Senior Vice President, Head of Sustainability, Marketing and Client Experience, Mackenzie Investments. “The summit provides a unique opportunity to engage with diverse stakeholders and facilitates impactful initiatives and discussions that address economic and sustainability challenges. At Mackenzie Investments, we are committed to leveraging these collaborative efforts to inform our aspirations of a more sustainable and resilient future.”
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Featured image credit: Sustainable Finance Summit
