Canada-Gulf investment outlook 2026: Key sectors and opportunities

Canada–Gulf investment decisions are increasingly turning into completed deals, creating real opportunities for Canadian companies looking to grow beyond North America. For boards and CEOs, the Canada–Gulf corridor offers a practical base for outbound expansion, providing access to long-term capital and a platform for regional growth and entry into Indo-Pacific markets. In sectors such as energy, healthcare, infrastructure, critical minerals, and technology, Gulf sovereign wealth funds, and other quasi-government entities in particular, are actively seeking joint ventures and meaningful ownership, making this a timely moment for management teams to pursue strategic growth and expansion strategies.

Recent transactions underscore this momentum, including an approximately US$500 million Qatar-backed investment in a TSX-listed critical minerals company and a multi-billion-dollar going-private transaction involving a large Canadian financial services firm by a UAE-based sovereign fund. The trend is reinforced by recent government engagement, including Prime Minister Mark Carney’s welcoming UAE's decision to invest up to US$70 billion in Canada, alongside Canada’s renewed economic engagement with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, focused on trade, investment and long-term partnerships.

This article highlights certain key trends and sectors where Canadian companies and their boards can focus in 2026 to generate near-term opportunities, based on DLA Piper’s experience and global platform across Canada-Gulf and Middle East transactions.

Sector outlook

AI and advanced technology

AI and digital infrastructure should be a priority focus in Canada–Gulf deal activity. Canada has strong technology capabilities in these areas, but remains underrepresented compared to peers that have already secured Gulf capital through strategic partnerships or are already engaged in ongoing projects, particularly in markets such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Similar opportunities exist in related sectors, including advanced manufacturing, battery storage and energy transition technology.

Gulf sovereign (and increasingly private sector) investors are investing heavily in AI and digital infrastructure because these assets directly support national policy priorities, while creating businesses with long-term revenue and scale. Governments in the region have made AI central to economic diversification and global competitiveness, and this policy support has unlocked substantial capital for investment. Regional sovereign wealth funds, which collectively manage trillions, are allocating billions to AI-related infrastructure, including data centres, and cloud platforms that can serve government, enterprise, and regional markets. Recent examples include a US$20 billion AI infrastructure partnership between Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund and a large Canadian asset manager focused on data centre development and a Saudi state-backed AI initiative designed to build AI capability at scale. In mid-2024, a TSXV-listed technology issuer completed a US$10 million strategic equity financing with a large Middle East-based institutional technology investor, an early example of how Gulf capital is beginning to engage with Canadian AI and digital infrastructure companies.

This momentum is supported by the recent Canada-UAE co-operation agreement on artificial intelligence, which brings government policy and private investment into closer alignment. The agreement supports cooperation on AI, data infrastructure, and technology development, and should give investors more confidence to commit long-term capital.

This framework creates an opportunity to combine proven Canadian technology and operating capability with Gulf capital to scale internationally. While Gulf investors bring capital and market access, they are looking for experienced partners who can build, operate and/or manage these businesses. Canadian AI and technology companies that proactively market their leading technologies and operational expertise will be best positioned to attract this capital and participate in projects at scales. Reflecting growing connectivity between the two markets, Canadian venture investors are expanding their presence in the Gulf, with a Montreal-based firm recently opening an office in Abu Dhabi to deepen partnerships and accelerate cross-border investment in advanced technologies.

The practical takeaway for Canadian boards and CEOs is simple: use the existing momentum in the Gulf to build and grow businesses through joint ventures, strategic investments and partnerships, rather than relying solely on sales or local vendor relationships alone.

The success of these opportunities will depend in part on how these deals are structured from the beginning.

Critical minerals and energy transition

The Middle East, and particularly Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, is becoming an important source of capital in global mining, with sovereign funds and quasi-government entities deploying capital strategically into both public and private mining companies, including Canadian public companies, through debt, equity and production-linked structures. By funding mining companies and entering into potential off-take arrangements, Gulf investors are pursuing a strategic objective: securing long-term access to critical minerals, such as copper, lithium, nickel, and potash. These materials are essential for building and scaling priority industries targeted by Gulf governments, notably electric vehicles, battery manufacturing, and renewable energy, and are central to stated policy objectives around energy transition and economic diversification away from oil-based GDP.

The UAE has also positioned itself as a regional hub for mining and natural resources through business-friendly regulations and financial free zones. In particular, a growing number of global mining and natural resources fund managers are establishing in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), reflecting its role as a base for capital raising, asset management, and access to Gulf sovereign and family office capital. This has included partnerships between international mining funds and regional sovereign investors.

We are increasingly fielding enquiries from public companies, including Canadian mining companies, that are considering establishing or re-domiciling in the ADGM as part of a broader strategy to access Gulf capital, form strategic partnerships, and manage investment review and regulatory oversight in other jurisdictions. Recent examples include a Canadian public mining company that redomiciled to Abu Dhabi to expand its strategic options in the region. We believe that this path will continue, with more capital and corporate presence shifting toward the Gulf, which reinforces why Canadian mining companies need to be focused on this region.

Similarly, Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 has made mining a key part of its plan to diversify the economy and support the energy transition. The government has simplified mining laws, made the licensing process more transparent and strengthened investor protections. At the same time, it is actively investing in and partnering with Canadian and international mining companies to develop projects and secure access to critical minerals. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia, due to the promising geography of the Arabian-Nubian Shield, is becoming a focus for exploration activities as well as related downstream projects.

Beyond direct equity investment and joint ventures, we believe that the Middle East capital markets offer underutilized financing options for Canadian mining companies, often through Islamic finance structures. These structures are a good fit for capital-intensive mining projects, which typically require significant capital and are asset-backed.

Crypto and digital assets

Crypto and digital assets have not yet been a major focus of Canada–Gulf deal activity, but this is an area Canadian companies should be looking at more seriously. Growth in these sectors in the Middle East, particularly in the UAE (and to a lesser extent Bahrain), has been driven by progressive regulation, active government support, and growing participation from institutional investors. Many international digital asset companies have already set up regional operations in the UAE, given its strategic geographic position, using it as a base for exchanges, custody, market-making, payments, and blockchain infrastructure serving markets across the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. The UAE’s appeal as a base is reinforced by its business-friendly environment. Financial centre free zones in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the ADGM permit full foreign ownership and largely apply under English common law.

A key reason for this shift is the balanced regulatory approach adopted by local regulators. In the UAE, regulators have introduced framework that follow the international best practices, combining clear supervisory rules and regulatory oversight with an explicit goal to incubate and grow the digital asset industry. At the same time, several regional banks and sovereign funds are investing in blockchain infrastructure, signaling growing institutional acceptance. By comparison, Canada’s crypto regulatory environment has been more conservative and cautious. While this has supported strong investor protection and financial stability, it has created an environment where it has been difficult for Canadian companies to use Canada as a base for global expansion. As a result, some companies have looked offshore for jurisdictions that offer clearer rules and a more commercially supportive regulatory environment.

For Canadian crypto and blockchain companies, this is a real opportunity. The UAE offers a market where regulation, capital, and customer demand are aligned, making it easier for Canadian companies to establish a regional base, access global investors and grow internationally through partnerships and joint ventures with regulated platforms. As with other sectors, success will depend on getting the structure right early, particularly around licensing, compliance, governance, and cross-border regulation.

Healthcare

Canadian companies should be interested in the Middle East healthcare opportunity because the Gulf in particular is undergoing a long-term, government-led expansion of its healthcare systems. Governments are investing in modernizing how care is delivered, managed, and funded, with a focus on primary and preventive care, digital and data-driven models, and the development of domestic life sciences and pharmaceutical capabilities (Alpen Capital GCC Healthcare Industry Report 2025). In Saudi Arabia, this agenda is being advanced through the Health Sector Transformation Program under Vision 2030, which is restructuring public healthcare delivery, expanding digital health, and increasing private-sector participation through public-private partnerships and long-term operating models. These policy priorities are driving demand across healthcare services, medical technology, biotech, pharmaceuticals, and digital health.

From a business and investment perspective, this represents a large and relatively predictable growth market. Healthcare spending is anchored in government budgets and multi-year national strategies, making demand more stable than in many other international markets. Importantly, Gulf governments are actively seeking private and international partners, using operating partnerships, long-term service contracts, and joint ventures to bring in expertise, improve performance, and share risk. In the UAE, tertiary care facilities have been developed through long-term government partnerships with international healthcare operators, supporting clinical capability and localized delivery of specialized care. Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 recently launched Hub71+ Life Sciences, a dedicated ecosystem to accelerate biotech, MedTech, and digital health innovation, providing global founders direct access to regulators, clinical partners, capital, and go‑to‑market support, effectively positioning the UAE as a launchpad for global health innovation.

The opportunity is not limited to healthcare providers. Canadian healthcare startups, growth companies, and VCs with portfolio companies in medical devices, biotech, and digital health, should consider the Middle East given that these are areas where Canadian innovators are strong. For example, a Canadian-based venture group launched a US$250 million regional MedTech fund targeting the Middle East and North Africa, in partnership with a prominent UAE family office. This structure illustrates a potential model for Canadian investors to aggregate regional capital, forge local partnerships, and fund international growth for their Canadian portfolio companies.

DLA Piper and next steps

DLA Piper, with integrated teams in Canada and across the Middle East, works closely with Canadian companies and investors operating in the region. We combine strong regional regulatory and tax knowledge with practical experience advising on cross-border transactions, supported by DLA Piper’s well-established disputes adn regulatory practice in the Middle East.

As part of this Canada–Gulf Investment Outlook, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss how Canadian businesses can approach the region, manage risk, and position themselves for long-term growth across these key sectors.

Contact the authors, Raj Dewan, Tim Sunar and Ishita Kashyap to find out how DLA Piper can support you.