Chris Bennett is Chair of the Financial Services practice group at Osler. He also leads the firm’s Project Finance team in Toronto.
Chris’ practice focuses on financial services with an emphasis on project finance, public-private partnerships, infrastructure and structured finance. Chris has extensive experience acting for domestic and international lenders, developers, equity sponsors and other participants in connection with complex project financings in many Canadian jurisdictions. He has led major transactions in a variety of industry sectors and asset classes, including social infrastructure, transportation, electricity and renewable energy. Chris’ experience includes a number of innovative project financings, including the first major healthcare P3 transaction in Canada to reach financial close, the first Canadian domestic monoline wrapped bank financing and the first combined bank-bond transportation project. He has represented all major categories of project finance lenders in the Canadian market, including domestic and foreign banks, private placement investors and bond underwriters.
Chris has spoken and written extensively on matters relating to project finance and public-private partnerships, including co-developing two courses on the law and policy of private partnerships at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, of which he has been a member of the adjunct faculty since 2007.