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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday his country will set up a pool of funds similar to the one used for investment by major oil exporters such as Norway as he looks to make the Canadian economy less dependent on the United States.<\/p>\n
Known as a sovereign wealth fund, it will focus on investing in Canadian infrastructure and will be operated like a private company. Canadians will also be able to invest in the fund.<\/p>\n
Sovereign wealth funds are large reserves of investment money that are generally managed independently, although they sometimes receive broad guidelines from governments as to where they can invest their money.<\/p>\n
In creating a country of its own, Canada is following other countries, among them the oil-rich countries of the Middle East.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
“It will be a Government of Canada fund, but more importantly, it will be a people’s fund, it will be your fund,” Mr. Carney told reporters in Ottawa. “There are many countries, like Norway, that have natural resources. Canada doesn’t have that yet.”<\/p>\n
Mr Carney linked its construction to his plans for major infrastructure projects such as pipelines, ports, new nuclear generation and a high-speed passenger rail line. Their intention is to strengthen the economy in the event of President Trump’s trade war with Canada.<\/p>\n
“For the first time in Canadian history,” Mr. Carney said, “Canadians will not only contribute to making these projects happen, but will directly benefit from their return.”<\/p>\n
With an initial investment of 25 billion Canadian dollars \u2013 about $18 billion \u2013 Canada’s new fund will be a fraction of the size of Norway’s, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund with $2 trillion.<\/p>\n