Norway puts 100% of its share of oil and gas revenues into its sovereign wealth fund so let’s hope Canada does as well. Not like Alberta which pillages its Heritage Trust Fund for general government operations.
It is correct that 100% of the income goes into the fund. However, up to 3% of the return can be used by the government. And over the last 8 years or so public squandering has balooned. And taxes cripple population and businesses, in particular smaller businesses.
Individuals cannot invest in the fund, nor private business. And the fund does not invest in e g infrastructure in Norway, something many people have criticised heavily.
As said above, openness and governance is the deciding factor for your success. If rotating door people and opaque processes decide on where investments go it will be a corruption nightmare.
The Norwegian Sovereign Fund (Pension) has a balance of US$2.2 trillion as compared to the Alberta Heritage Trust Fund of $32 billion. The population of Alberta is about 5 million and Norway is 5.6 million. I’d say that Norway is doing an exceptional job - Alberta, not so much.
Really this is excellent in principal. We now await details of just how it will work. Initially some have compared this to Norway who have done a fantastic job with the profits coming from the North Sea oil and currently have about $1.8Trillion in the fund!
I don’t think our Soverign Fund will be like that. This is an opportunity for any Canadian to invest however much they want. That part isn’t clear as yet. Will there be $10 bonds or $100 bonds anyone can buy through a bank? Carney did say the investment was guaranteed so you will always get your money back. Might it be like the UK when they had Premium Bonds and a number was drawn every month for a big winner, but the total value of the bonds was used by government. Will you have a choice as to what project you might want to invest in?
Lots of unanswered questions, but the answers will come soon, I am sure. Whatever they are, it is a great opportunity for those of us that truly support Canada moving forward to play a role, no matter how big or small, but we must also realize this will benefit our children and grandchildren children more than ourselves.
In the UK , all consumables like gas, electricity water, the railways were owned by the Government. These entities managed them and they were NOT FOR PROFIT. Then we had a change of Government …, they were all privatised. The profit became more important than the infrastructure and service. We have a political party presently which wants to privatise our NHS. If your Government wishes to do this, then BRAVO, but they also need to make sure that there are laws to protect it in case a future government has a different idea.
I want to contribute. Presently I do not live in Canada but hope and pray to return sooner than later. I hope they let me/us who reside outside of Canada participate.
A thoughtful and evidence-grounded reflection—thank you for bringing clarity to a subject that often gets lost in noise.
What stands out to me is not just the scale of this initiative, but its intent: the idea of building a national capacity to invest in our own future, rather than merely reacting to external forces. A sovereign-style fund of this nature is, at its best, a statement of long-term discipline—turning resources, effort, and capital into intergenerational stability.
Reuters +1
At the same time, your piece rightly invites a deeper question:
Will this remain a financial instrument… or evolve into a shared national responsibility?
Because ultimately, such frameworks succeed not only through capital—but through trust, governance, and collective participation.
A meaningful contribution to an important conversation—grounded, balanced, and timely.
Taking a page out of Norway's book
Norway puts 100% of its share of oil and gas revenues into its sovereign wealth fund so let’s hope Canada does as well. Not like Alberta which pillages its Heritage Trust Fund for general government operations.
It is correct that 100% of the income goes into the fund. However, up to 3% of the return can be used by the government. And over the last 8 years or so public squandering has balooned. And taxes cripple population and businesses, in particular smaller businesses.
Individuals cannot invest in the fund, nor private business. And the fund does not invest in e g infrastructure in Norway, something many people have criticised heavily.
As said above, openness and governance is the deciding factor for your success. If rotating door people and opaque processes decide on where investments go it will be a corruption nightmare.
The Norwegian Sovereign Fund (Pension) has a balance of US$2.2 trillion as compared to the Alberta Heritage Trust Fund of $32 billion. The population of Alberta is about 5 million and Norway is 5.6 million. I’d say that Norway is doing an exceptional job - Alberta, not so much.
It is a start. If you start you have the possibility of achieving something. If you don't even start nothing will happen.
Great post, breaking everything down, Fred. I am also listening to him as I read haha
If they approach this fund like the CPP fund, we are good to go. Awesome returns and no hokety pokety like Alberta's AIMCo.
Really this is excellent in principal. We now await details of just how it will work. Initially some have compared this to Norway who have done a fantastic job with the profits coming from the North Sea oil and currently have about $1.8Trillion in the fund!
I don’t think our Soverign Fund will be like that. This is an opportunity for any Canadian to invest however much they want. That part isn’t clear as yet. Will there be $10 bonds or $100 bonds anyone can buy through a bank? Carney did say the investment was guaranteed so you will always get your money back. Might it be like the UK when they had Premium Bonds and a number was drawn every month for a big winner, but the total value of the bonds was used by government. Will you have a choice as to what project you might want to invest in?
Lots of unanswered questions, but the answers will come soon, I am sure. Whatever they are, it is a great opportunity for those of us that truly support Canada moving forward to play a role, no matter how big or small, but we must also realize this will benefit our children and grandchildren children more than ourselves.
We are doing it - reversing trickle down economics😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
We are building circular economy 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
In the UK , all consumables like gas, electricity water, the railways were owned by the Government. These entities managed them and they were NOT FOR PROFIT. Then we had a change of Government …, they were all privatised. The profit became more important than the infrastructure and service. We have a political party presently which wants to privatise our NHS. If your Government wishes to do this, then BRAVO, but they also need to make sure that there are laws to protect it in case a future government has a different idea.
I want to contribute. Presently I do not live in Canada but hope and pray to return sooner than later. I hope they let me/us who reside outside of Canada participate.
A thoughtful and evidence-grounded reflection—thank you for bringing clarity to a subject that often gets lost in noise.
What stands out to me is not just the scale of this initiative, but its intent: the idea of building a national capacity to invest in our own future, rather than merely reacting to external forces. A sovereign-style fund of this nature is, at its best, a statement of long-term discipline—turning resources, effort, and capital into intergenerational stability.
Reuters +1
At the same time, your piece rightly invites a deeper question:
Will this remain a financial instrument… or evolve into a shared national responsibility?
Because ultimately, such frameworks succeed not only through capital—but through trust, governance, and collective participation.
A meaningful contribution to an important conversation—grounded, balanced, and timely.
—Salmi
🇨🇦 www.salmiinconversation.com