QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Canada Strong Fund
April 29, 2026
Government leader, your government’s proposed sovereign wealth fund, or SWF, has left Canadians and, indeed, the markets more puzzled than reassured. After all, the fundamental premise of such a fund is simple: A country must first generate and sustain surplus wealth. Yet, the Liberal record over the past few years shows the contrary: They have fuelled inflation through costly policies that have left the country nearly $1.3 trillion in the hole. If you don’t believe me, take the Scotiabank’s global economics report on the proposed sovereign wealth fund. They say, “Canada is not a net saver and therefore doesn’t satisfy the most basic criteria for having a SWF . . . .”
Senator Moreau, why should Canadians trust their life savings in Prime Minister Carney’s “sovereign debt fund” when even Bay Street is expressing serious doubts over its viability?
Thank you for the question, Senator Housakos. It gives me the opportunity to tell Canadians that the Canadian-owned sovereign wealth fund will bring the possibility for individuals to invest in it. The fund will not be limited to any specific sector, and it will be aimed at long-term investments.
We will get how it will be used and global best practices through consultations, and that is what the government is doing now. I’m quite certain, Senator Housakos, that this fund will be a success.
We all know, government leader, what wealth funds do and how they are managed, but they are wealth funds, not debt funds. Asset recycling does not change the reality that this fund is ultimately financed through additional debt. That is not a stable or credible foundation for attracting the private capital required to meet its objectives.
What, in practical terms, distinguishes the Prime Minister’s proposed “sovereign debt fund” from numerous Liberal investment vehicles over the last decade that have delivered little beyond deeper deficits? What is the difference with this and everything else you’ve done in the past?
Yesterday, your question was about how to make investments come into government business. That’s exactly what the fund is all about. We will allow individuals and corporations to invest private funds to help Canada be a strong economy, build major projects and invest in our economy to create jobs. That’s what the fund is all about. I guess that answers yesterday’s question and today’s question, as well.
Government leader, you have a long and storied career in Montreal as an accomplished lawyer and a former cabinet minister, and you have worked in the business community in Montreal. Don’t you agree that bringing down debt and cutting red tape are the most foundational ways to encourage private wealth and investments to come into Canada from various sources? Don’t you agree that creating more debt, regulations and red tape are not necessarily the best vehicles to attract wealth?
I will repeat that every wealth fund in the world — Norway, Alberta — is based on the premise of surplus being invested in order to create that wealth. Is that the case with this wealth fund?
The best answer is that measures in the spring economic update bring $37.5 billion into our economy over the next six years. The government is committed to making our economy strong, and that’s exactly what the spring economic update shows. We are not only investing in our economy but creating affordability for all Canadians. We are investing in job creation, the health sector, the housing sector and sports. We had a question last week about how we invest in sports. That’s exactly what we are doing with this update with unprecedented investment.
I thought the time was up. It is such a big update that one minute is not enough to answer and expose all the good things we are doing.
What the economic statement shows is that international oil prices are sky high, taxes on oil and gas in this country are sky high and the government has had a bonanza of revenue off the backs of hard-working Canadians because of these taxes and oil prices. That’s basically the only thing the economic statement has shown.
Can you give us a simple answer: What country or wealth fund in the world do you know that is operating under a debt deficit situation, like the one that your government will be?
Your preamble was about how high oil and gas prices are in the world. Last week, your question was about why the government implemented a temporary suspension of the federal fuel excise tax. You have to be consistent. Last week, it was a bad idea; this week it’s not enough. Yesterday, we were spending too much; today, we are not spending enough. You have to make up your mind, senator.
