Sovereign wealth funds

Canada, Carney launches $18 billion public investment fund

The fund will invest in major Canadian industrial projects in sectors such as energy, infrastructure, mining, agriculture and technology

27 April 2026

Il primo ministro canadese Mark Carney REUTERS

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Canada is developing a public investment fund, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Monday.

Carney said the fund will invest in major Canadian industrial projects in areas such as energy, infrastructure, mining, agriculture, and technology. The initial allocation will be C$25 billion (USD 18 billion).

The prime minister stated that the federal government will provide the funds together with private investors. The funds will help finance projects that the Carney government is focusing on, with the aim of diversifying the Canadian economy and reducing dependence on the United States.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened Canada's economy and sovereignty with tariffs, in particular stating that Canada could become the 51st state of the United States.

"Many of our strengths, built on our close relationship with the United States, have become our weaknesses," Carney said. "The United States has changed. It is their right and we are reacting. It is our imperative."

Carney was a two-time central banker in England and Canada and former chairman of the board of Bloomberg.

"We learn from the examples of other jurisdictions that had the foresight to establish sovereign wealth funds decades ago," Carney said. "In some cases, they started with an internal focus and then expanded beyond the limits of that focus."

Sovereign wealth funds invest in assets such as stocks, bonds and real estate. Typically, these funds are financed by a country's budget surplus, which Canada does not currently have. The announcement came a day before the Carney government presented its spring economic update.

According to the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds, a London-based organisation of about 50 such entities, there are more than 90 sovereign wealth funds worldwide that manage more than $8 trillion in assets.

Last year, Trump ordered the creation of a US sovereign wealth fund. In the US, according to an analysis by the Center for Global Development, a Washington-based nonpartisan think tank, there are more than 20 state-level sovereign wealth funds.