The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Blackstone, the U.S. private equity giant, holds $50-billion worth Canadian assets, many of them in real estate. The Globe's Tim Kiladze writes that much as Canada needs money from sovereign wealth funds and private equity to finance infrastructure and capital investments, these firms need the country just as much. During this week's investment summit, BlackRock's Larry Fink said governments across the West are in debt and can't afford to borrow more to fund infrastructure. Instead, he said, they'll need some of the $15-trillion (U.S.) that BlackRock manages to finance their growth. What he failed to mention is that many sources of private capital have struggled in recent years. Returns from traditional private equity funds have been weak, and their own shareholders are losing confidence. Blackstone's share price is down 33 per cent over the past year. So even though some things are out of Canada's control, the country doesn't have to sell itself short. Canada has what the world wants, as Prime Minister Mark Carney keeps saying, and the country has every reason to make foreign investors pay up for it. It's un-Canadian to brag, but the country can. And should.