Members of the media may directly contact the following experts on this topic:
Patrick Leblond (English and French)
Associate professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, Faculty of Social Sciences.
Patrick Leblond's expertise concerns questions relating to global economic governance and international and comparative political economy in North America.
"This is a positive initiative which will be run as a Crown Corporation at arm’s length from the government, although the sum will need to increase over time to match the scale of investments that Canada needs over the next 10 to 20 years.
To support major projects, the fund will need to take on more risk than the private sector is willing to do so as to co-opt private-sector funds in risky, long-term projects; with such a strategy, it will need to change its market-based metrics: i.e., accept below-market returns (relative to risk) and include Canada’s increased economic security as an objective. To support innovative ventures, the fund will need a wide portfolio of projects/ventures so that a few big wins compensate for the many, smaller losses."
Tyler Chamberlin (English only)
Associate Professor, Telfer School of Management.
Professor Chamberlin's expertise includes Canadian economics and politics.
“What has been announced today as a Canada Sovereign Wealth Fund is not the same as the example, which was provided, The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, or others that were not mentioned, such as those from the Persian Gulf States. Those funds are drawn from excess revenues from Oil exports and invested largely abroad, particularly in the case of the Norwegian fund.
In Canada's case, we will be borrowing money and investing in Canadian projects. The rationale provided is that these will be profitable investments and everyone will benefit from the profits. But all Canadians always benefit from successful investments in the form of Corporation Income Taxes. Why we need another layer of bureaucracy when we already have vehicles such as the Canada Infrastructure Bank and Canada Pension Plan is not clear and should be further investigated.”
Isabelle Salle (English and French)
Canada Research Chair in Macroeconomics and Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences.
Professor Salle’s research and policy experience is in macroeconomic policies, monetary policy and central bank communication.
"It is strange to set up a sovereign fund from tax payers money only while running a public deficit with no end in sight at the same time."
Fabio Moneta (English only)
Associate Professor and RBC Financial Group, Telfer School of Management.
Professor Moneta’s research interests concentrate on investments, institutional investors, trading behavior, mutual fund performance, responsible investing, and empirical asset pricing.
"It’s an interesting initiative, but it raises more questions than it answers, especially about where the money comes from and why these projects aren’t already being financed by private markets."
Syrine Sassi (English and French)
Associate Professor of Finance, Telfer School of Management.
Professor Sassi's research work explores complex issues in corporate financial management and governance. She can provide insight into what a sovereign wealth fund is, how it operates and the key challenges associated with these funds.
"While sovereign wealth funds are typically established to benefit citizens collectively, there is often a gap between this objective and how they operate in practice."