champagne says new canadian sovereign wealth fund is being ‘maîtres chez nous’

described by canada's finance minister as "a defining moment in our collective future," the government is launching a sovereign wealth fund designed to involve canadians in nation-building projects.highlighting that many groundbreaking projects have come out of quebec, finance minister françois-philippe champagne chose to announce the creation of the canada strong fund at hec montréal on monday while prime minister mark carney made a similar announcement in ottawa. champagne, who visited the city a day before he is set to provide canada's spring economic update, said the fund will become "another tool in the country's toolkit" to drive its economic development and shape its future."this is an important moment because, especially in quebec’s history, it resonates with us," said champagne, who was joined by other federal ministers for the announcement. many major financial players were also in attendance. "we’ve done big things like this before. we’ve given ourselves the tools to build collective wealth together, and this fits within that reality."

evan buhler / montreal gazette

the canada strong fund will start with a federal contribution of $25 billion to invest in projects and companies driving the country's economic transformation, including projects in clean and conventional energy, critical minerals, agriculture, and infrastructure. returns will be reinvested into the fund. capital will be directed towards investments "with the highest potential return for canada and canadians," a news release explains. "what’s particularly interesting is that canadians will directly benefit from major projects," champagne said, describing the fund as a joint investment account "designed to grow wealth for future generations." while other countries have sovereign funds, champagne said this one stands out because citizens can invest, too. referencing former quebec premier jean lesage's 1962 election slogan "maîtres chez nous," champagne said this project is the modern version of that. "being 'maîtres chez nous' is giving ourselves collective tools," champagne said. "at the time, those major projects were largely carried out by the private sector. now, it’s all of us who are going to benefit from them. we’re going to build them, we’re going to carry them out, but we’ll also be able to benefit from them both individually and collectively."despite making a point of holding a separate announcement about the fund, champagne wouldn't explain how exactly participation will work. he said additional details would be made available on tuesday, but that some aspects will require consultations to ensure the process is "easy and accessible" for canadians. the fund, which will be its own independent crown corporation with a ceo and board of directors, should be up and running in the coming months, champagne said. the plan is to avoid overlap with other existing funds.

evan buhler /

mp carlos leitão, parliamentary secretary to the minister of industry and former quebec finance minister, said canada already has a "stable, innovative, and high-performing financial system," and that all that was missing was a tool for long-term investments. monday's announcement, he said, builds on quebec's "remarkable experience with public investment," using the examples of the caisse de dépôt et placement, the ftq’s fonds de solidarité and the csn’s fondaction.champagne described the fund as canada looking to the future as it comes to a turning point in its economy, particularly as a "fog of uncertainty" hangs over the global economy more generally. "there’s a lot happening at once — technological, geopolitical, geo-economic shifts — but canada stands out for its resilience," he said. "still, we must adapt, invest, innovate, and build. that’s exactly the point of today’s announcement." kthomas@postmedia.com