FULL PRESSER: PM Carney Unveils $25B Canada Strong Fund 🇨🇦 | Sovereign Wealth Plan Explained | AC1E

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[00:00:02]Good to see you.

[00:00:04]>> Yeah, this is cool.

[00:00:08]>> Yeah.

[00:00:10]>> Hello. Bonjour. Morning everyone. Uh it's a great pleasure to be at the Canadian Science and Technology Museum with my Ottawa, Greater Ottawa Caucus colleagues. Um, this place is a temple, veritable temple to the ingenuity and drive that has built our great country.

[00:00:30]Canada has always been a nation of risktakers and builders.

[00:00:35]The country was originally forged by indigenous peoples and voyagers who map the continent and build vast trading networks from coast to coast to coast before the Americans had even left St. Louis. And by the early 1870s, a young Canada was a vast land of provinces bound together, has to be said, mainly in name, a mere geographical expression in Sir John A.

[00:01:04]Macdonald's memorable phrase, facing at that time an economic depression and threats to our sovereignty from our southern neighbor, Canadians chose to build. And the Canadian Pacific Railway became the connective tissue of a new country. The iron spine from east to west, expanding Canada and bringing British Columbia into confederation.

[00:01:28]Our resources were unlocked. Our trade increased. Our industries grew and a stronger, more united and more prosperous Canada emerged.

[00:01:37]The CPR itself, Canadian Pacific Railway, became one of the most profitable enterprises in the British Empire, and its founders, Lord Mount Steven and Lord Strath Kona, numbered amongst its wealthiest people.

[00:01:53]Now, today, Canada faces new challenges from a world that's changing, not gradually, but suddenly. Technological change is accelerating. The foundations of the international order, the order which Canada helped to build and from which we have long benefited, that order is crumbling. And many of our our former strengths built on our close ties to the United States have become our weaknesses.

[00:02:20]The US has changed. That's their right.

[00:02:24]And we are responding. That is our imperative.

[00:02:29]We are responding with speed and ambition, focusing on what we can control, which is to build our strength at home and diversify our partnerships abroad.

[00:02:41]Abroad, we've secured more than 20 economic and security partnerships across four continents in less than a year. We're re-engaging with global giants like India, China, and Brazil.

[00:02:52]and we're deepening our partnerships with our closest allies, including the European Union, the Nordic countries, and Australia.

[00:03:00]As a result, we're attracting the strongest investment in the G7. And we're on track to double our non US exports within a decade. That's $300 billion of new orders for Canadian resources, goods, and expertise.

[00:03:17]At home, we're catalyzing a series of nation building projects in energy, trade, critical minerals, transport, data, and beyond. We've announced 21 nation building initiatives that will connect, diversify, and propel our economy through over $125 billion of new investment.

[00:03:38]We're realizing Canada's full potential in clean and conventional energies to power Canadian homes, build Canadian businesses, and reinforce Canadian sovereignty.

[00:03:50]We're building a strong economy where everyone has a chance to get ahead, where we can take care of the vulnerable in our society, where we pull together to make life more affordable today and better tomorrow.

[00:04:08]These are still early days, but we're already delivering results.

[00:04:24]Energetic construction.

[00:04:51]construction.

[00:04:58]Sunrise Mckenzie, the Northwest pay Canada Brunswick.

[00:06:15]Toronto, Canada.

[00:06:27]Tomorrow, the Minister of Finance will release our first spring update, and it will show how Canada's new government is combining responsible fiscal management with new measures to ensure that all Canadians can participate in building a more independent and a more resilient Canadian economy.

[00:06:49]Building Canada strong means building a Canada where everyone has a stake, where growth is shared, and where prosperity reaches every region, every community, and every family.

[00:07:04]So today, we're proud to announce a new pillar of our plan, the Canada Strong Fund, Canada's first national sovereign wealth fund. This will be a government of Canada fund, but more importantly, this will be a people's fund. It will be your fund.

[00:07:37]Canadian, the energy, the mean, the technology.

[00:07:55]Fore.

[00:08:22]So, here's how it works.

[00:08:24]A sovereign wealth fund is essentially a national savings and investment account.

[00:08:30]It's designed to grow wealth for future generations of Canadians.

[00:08:35]Many countries, many countries that are blessed with natural resources, like Norway, have sovereign wealth funds.

[00:08:43]Canada hasn't had one until now. The new Canada Strong Fund will give all Canadians a direct stake in building Canada strong.

[00:08:54]Now, to be clear, just like with the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway 150 years ago, Canada's major projects will mostly be built by private companies.

[00:09:09]And just as in the 1870s, the federal government will support these projects through loans, grants, and other incentives.

[00:09:18]And we do this because these projects have wider benefits to our economies.

[00:09:24]Benefits that exceed the private returns. Give an example. Expanding the port of Montreal at Cultraur will unlock new markets for thousands of Canadian businesses and create hundreds of thousands of jobs for Canadian workers.

[00:09:42]So until now, while those wider benefits flowed to the Canadian economy, flowed to our country, the financial returns of the projects themselves flowed only to those who built and ran them. That changes today.

[00:10:01]When the CPR was built, the government of the day granted a private monopoly to the company. today to create wealth for Canadians today and our kids tomorrow. The Canada Strong Fund will invest alongside the private sector in nation building projects on a fully commercial basis.

[00:10:22]We will begin with an initial endowment of $25 billion.

[00:10:27]Over time, the fund will grow through asset recycling and reinvestment, creating even greater opportunities for future generations.

[00:10:37]We will also do something something else that's new and important for those Canadians who want to participate in an even more direct way.

[00:10:48]We will make it easy for individual Canadians to invest in the fund and therefore own a small piece of nation building projects and share in their returns.

[00:10:59]The fund will be professionally managed and operate as an armslength independent crown corporation.

[00:11:06]And we'll consult over the coming months on the specific aspects of the fund. But one thing is sure, it will be accessible to everyone, not just a few. Because the Canada Strong Fund is about solidarity amongst Canadians, no matter where they live. So whether a project is in Alberta, Quebec, or in the far north, high north, all Canadians will have a stake because this is about ensuring that you and your children and your children's children benefit from the prosperity that we are creating today.

[00:11:43]You know, in many ways, we're walking today the same path as our predecessors did.

[00:11:51]We have the same conviction that ambition and drive can change the course of a nation. We have the same catalytic role for government to make nation building projects happen.

[00:12:02]We have the same reliance on private enterprise to build and run these businesses.

[00:12:08]But at the same time, we've also learned from our past.

[00:12:13]The Canadian Pacific Railway transformed Canada, but it did so in a way that also left deep scars.

[00:12:21]Indigenous peoples were displaced from their lands. Thousands of workers toiled in appalling conditions and the wealth that was created acrewed to the few, not the many.

[00:12:36]Three things are different this time.

[00:12:40]This time we are building with indigenous peoples as full partners, ensuring ensuring meaningful indigenous ownership and major economic benefits.

[00:12:52]This time we are building in solidarity with Canadian workers, creating hundreds of thousands of high-paying union jobs.

[00:13:00]And this time, for the first time in our history, every Canadian will hold a direct stake in what's built.

[00:13:07]Because we know that nation building is not just about what we build. It's also about how we build. We are building together with all Canadians and for all Canadians.

[00:13:30]Avenue in Canada.

[00:13:48]Jean lbecu.

[00:14:08]Set me philosophy.

[00:14:27]Not for Canada for Canada.

[00:14:43]It's our country. It's your future.

[00:14:46]We're building by Canadians for all Canadians. We are building Canada strong for all. Thank you very much. Meu and I look forward to your questions.

[00:15:01]>> Steph, first question. Go ahead.

[00:15:02]>> Good morning, Prime Minister. Stephanie Levitz from the Globe and Mail. Um, the government's running deficits and cutting spending across the board. So, where is this $25 billion going to come from?

[00:15:12]>> Uh, well, the first thing uh I won't uh frontr run uh the Minister of Finance too much too much uh tomorrow. Uh but uh there will be good news uh tomorrow uh with the uh uh the spring update uh on the fiscal situation uh the government's performance against our deficit targets the government performance on getting spending under control uh and the government's performance at the main time and this has been core to our strategy which is to spend less get spending under control so that Canada can invest more and what today is about is ensuring that as Canada invests more Canada as a country the Canadian private sector, foreign investors in Canada that all Canadians share in the benefits of that. Uh we have ample resources in order to do so alongside and remember last point and I'll hand back is that there's a series and this is what governments have done over the years um series of measures that governments are taking to create the possibility of these projects. We're doing that on a different scale now. Um and now we're making sure at the same time that all Canadians benefit.

[00:16:16]>> Followup. You keep referencing the Canadian Pacific Railway as as a benchmark here and that was funded by private investment.

[00:16:23]>> Yeah.

[00:16:24]>> Um but a lack of transparency around that financing led to one of the earliest political scandals in Confederation.

[00:16:30]>> So I'd like to know about the transparency on this fund. Who is going to manage it?

[00:16:35]>> Yeah. Um absolutely. Look, I and I'm glad you raised it because there are there are lessons on all in all respects on how from our past and from uh the specific example. uh and I drew out some of the most important ones about partnership with indigenous peoples, full partnership with workers and full uh full participation of Canadians alongside. This will be a uh independent crown corporation uh reports to parliament uh arms length as I say independent, full disclosure, professionally managed um and the investments uh that are made uh will be clear. The objective is to grow wealth for Canadians over the long term.

[00:17:19]>> Next question.

[00:17:40]Well, fundamental is objective.

[00:18:07]Dwight de Antonual, you know, in in large transparence.

[00:18:59]Wait possibility.

[00:19:06]Uh, okay. Well, for the Canadian. The Canadian Canadian Google.

[00:19:55]Okay.

[00:20:10]economy export Examp.

[00:20:40]sector.

[00:20:51]>> Next question. Question.

[00:20:54]>> Good morning, Tonda Mc Charles, Toronto Star. Um just following up on that uh line of questioning in terms of the individuals that you want to be able to enable invest investment in this fund.

[00:21:07]>> Um could you elaborate on what you envis envisage that as because not everyone obviously has the means to invest and so does this stand to uh benefit richer people than others?

[00:21:18]>> Well, I think this so this um thank you uh MC Charles for the question. The there's several aspects here. One is the design of the fund. All Canadians will benefit because it's a sovereign fund of Canada. It's the people's fund. We all benefit. And the question what we what we're proposing to do on top of that on top of that is to provide all Canadians the opportunity if they have a little bit of money. We're not talking big money, but a little bit of money to invest alongside to put into the fund alongside. um and that incre increases the participation. I will tell you that one of the things that is striking going across the country over the last year is Canadians want to get involved. They want to get involved in building the country. In some cases, they can be directly involved in their in their business or their day-to-day lives. Uh in other cases, it's in consumer choices or where they travel, where they vacation, uh what they what they choose to eat or drink. That's a way to get involved. Uh but if there's a way to align with um uh what is a very exciting time uh for the country where we're really building uh we'll make that uh available to people. It is not something for I'm going to use the term from your question rich people. It's it's something for Canadians, for all Canadians, everyday uh Canadians on that scale uh to provide it and we'll provide it in a way uh you know again we'll consult and we'll go through the details so I don't want to overly finalize it but we intend to provide it in a way where the investment itself the actual amount of money is protected. It's something consistent to buying a government bond but has the upside the additional return when these projects uh realize their potential. follow up >> uh and on you you said the goal of it is to grow wealth and so I'm wondering to what extent though that you have already coordinated or consulted with the provinces that really have control over the a lot of the oil and gas for example generating uh sectors and Alberta Saskatchewan and Newfoundland why how can you persuade them it's not ultimately a resource wealth grab >> well it's not um the um there's a series.

[00:23:35]Sometimes um if I may, the the discussion of how we're building the country, how Canadians are building the country gets reduced to one sector or one type of infrastructure in one sector. Um there is a very broad range of things that we're Canadians are doing to grow Canada strong. Uh that involves entirely new ports in the Arctic. Uh it involves a host of uh of critical minerals. It involves um data in infrastructure and other infrastructure that will be necessary. involves uh a a series of a series of investments above and beyond the TG the the highspeed rail and and others where there is at the heart of all of these projects including in resources provincial jurisdiction including resources where the federal government is catalyzing helping to make the project happen through a tax incentive um through uh some other support regulatory or their support and at the core there is a commercial business a commercial project that is making a profit. It is fair right just smart for Canadians to have a share directly of those profits um and that's what the fund is going to make possible and this is a great thing for Canadians uh today and uh and very much uh tomorrow because it's going to spread the benefit over time.

[00:25:02]>> Next question. Question.

[00:25:05]Hi, Prime Minister. Jillian Piper with Global News. Is asking Canadians to invest in these projects an admission that we don't have a good enough business climate for the private sector to step up and finance major projects?

[00:25:15]>> Absolutely not. It's the exact opposite.

[00:25:17]We have a great climate. We have a great business climate uh and it's getting better every day and where this government's committed to make sure that it continues to improve for business investment. You only have to look and again I won't frontr run uh my finance minister but I would suggest a careful study during that five-hour lockup tomorrow if you're going to attend uh of the uh update will detail just the scale to which foreign direct investment has increased in Canada how it's outpacing all other major economies right now we intend to that continue and so the question is the capital is there the interest is there yes certain things have to be done for each project to uh to get them move forward And the question we asked ourselves, as the government of Canada is, as all that capital comes in from abroad or is invested from uh domestically, why shouldn't Canadians invest alongside not with preferential treatment, not with different things, but alongside the private sector and get the same reserves so that Canadians themselves, but our kids and our grandkids uh benefit from this transformation of the economy.

[00:26:24]That's what we're doing. So, capital, foreign investment, uh, you know, we can always get better. This is not the issue we have. Making sure that the this transformation benefits as many Canadians, all Canadians. That's what we're focused on and that's what this is going to help to do.

[00:26:42]>> Follow up.

[00:26:43]>> Thank you. And will this fund only be able to invest in projects that your government has deemed are in the national interest?

[00:26:49]>> Uh, we'll consult. I I don't think that it will be that restricted, but it'll be a focus on investing in Canada.

[00:26:56]>> Next question.

[00:26:57]>> Investing Canada. So, it doesn't have to be I I your question I'm going to interpret it even more specifically which is under um the Build Canada Act.

[00:27:06]There there are certain requirements for projects of national interest, a designation and others. So, it wouldn't be restricted to that in in my judgment.

[00:27:14]We'll consult on the specifics of that.

[00:27:16]So, it's a broader range than would be just specifically C5 to be specific uh national interest projects.

[00:27:23]>> Next question. Kate, >> good morning, Prime Minister. Kate McKenna, CBC News. Uh just to follow up on my colleagueu's question, it sounds like uh this fund will be for Canadian investments. I believe that puts it at odds with other uh similar funds around the world. Could you explain why you made that?

[00:27:38]>> Uh well, there's a couple of things. One is um partly we're taking lessons from our history uh which is that um a lot of wealth has been created in these transformative projects uh including catalyzed and and supported by uh government action that's appropriate because the broader economic benefits but also it creates an opportunity to invest alongside for Canadians and spread that wealth over time. That's first thing. Secondly, we take a lesson from other jurisdictions that had the foresight many decades ago to start sovereign wealth funds and benefit from their broader uh resources. Uh the third thing is and in some cases they began with a domestic focus then outgrew the scale of the domestic focus. You can think of tease in uh Singapore would be an example of that. Um, we are, you hear this and you're going to continue to hear this and this is one of the demonstrations of it. We're we're focused on generational investments, a scale on a scale not seen for generations, a huge range of that. It creates a a tremendous opportunity uh for the country. And this is one way, one way, many others, but it's one way that we can ensure that all Canadians benefit from what's happening, including uh, you know, today, but very much tomorrow in terms of uh the next generations to come, younger Canadians.

[00:29:03]This, in many respects, is a fund in terms of the ultimate impact will be uh felt by younger Canadians and their kids.

[00:29:12]>> Followup. Um could you elaborate a little bit about why the deficit is set to be less than was projected?

[00:29:20]>> Because we're good fiscal managers.

[00:29:23]>> We are focused on we're foc I mean and that's not like uh the minister of finance, myself, the government, the cabinet uh we focus uh on on the numbers. uh and uh we were determined to get spending down with a lot of very difficult my colleagues have participated in uh some of these decisions difficult decisions that you can't do everything at the same time. Uh the minister of national defense is here and you know we have a need to build up uh and to secure Canada. So we're making decisions in order to create room for that. We're making decisions the question earlier about affordability. uh you will see that the decisions we make a very large number of them proportion of them uh are to address the affordability challenges that Canadians are facing today uh but uh you know in order for the numbers to be better you have to be on top of them and we're on top of them >> next question >> Sarah Richie with the Canadian press can you help us understand how this is going to be in its goals different from the Canada Infrastructure Bank that was launched under the previous government and why you need an entirely new agency to do what you're doing.

[00:30:30]>> Yeah. Well, thank you for the question because it's it's a crucial one. So, the Canadian Infrastructure Bank, I mean, I I'll start. There's multiple levels of this, but the Canadian Infrastructure Bank provides debt. Uh it lends and and in lending, it helps make projects possible and it it does. And this is an effective institution. It's it's got real traction and we'll see the Canada Infrastructure Bank increasingly involved in a series of financings. I'm leaning a bit on ContraU, but I'll use another, you know, they lent a billion something into ContraUR. There there's lots of other examples of that. So, but that's debt and when you invest when you when you lend money, you hope to get it paid back and then you move on. That's what the Canada Infrastructure Bank does. You don't get the returns that the underlying business or project gets, the equity returns, the returns to the owner, which are substantially, if it's wellrun, substantially higher than the returns for debt. That's what this does.

[00:31:30]This comes in on a commercial basis. It gets those returns alongside the private sector and it will spread the benefits of those returns over a much longer horizon. It's good to have the Canada Infrastructure Bank. It's good to have Export Development Canada, which helps with export finance. Uh BDC, which helps for small medium-siz enterprises. But all of those entities are helping underlying businesses at the core to move forward. And what we're doing is uh getting returns because we're helping them getting returns alongside them.

[00:32:06]follow up.

[00:32:07]>> Between this initiative you're announcing today, the infrastructure bank, the major projects office, is your government getting too involved uh in picking winners and losers in the economy?

[00:32:18]>> Uh no is the is the short answer because what you're still driving on all of these cases is private proponents who are making the decisions whether or not to move forward. Um and the scale of investment uh even if it's a small amount there's the discipline of the private sector but the scale of investment is tens hundreds of billions of dollars that uh is only going to happen if if the project the underlying project itself makes sense and it's when it gets to that point that the people of Canada deserve a share alongside.

[00:32:52]>> Next question. We're just about time so this will be the last question.

[00:32:56]>> Hi Prime Minister Graeme Richardson CTV.

[00:32:57]Um, this all feels very macro and and I appreciate that it's it's um it's important, it's impactful and but you go out on St. Lauron Boulevard right now and you ask people, hey, sovereign wealth funds been created. They don't understand that, but they do understand where the grocery prices.

[00:33:16]>> Well, I I mean, I'm I'm looking forward to CTV explaining it to them. But to my to my to my point, it feels it feels up here.

[00:33:24]>> And for people um groceries, gas, all those all those real life things and recent polls have shown that well Canadians appreciate where the country standing is macro now and give you credit for it. Uh they uh or your government credit for it. They they they say it's been failing on affordability issues in the first year. So what does is there a connection here from this to those affordability issues? Can you make that argument?

[00:33:54]>> Well, I think so a couple things Graham and thanks for the question. One is government has to do good government has to do several things at one time. You need to defend the country. You need to make communities safe. We've got the toughest uh uh crime legislation just now finally making it through uh through the House. the reinforcements of the RCMP and the border guards alongside that. Um, you need to build for the future what we're doing with Canada strong that core element and you need to help people where they are today. Your question goes to the heart of that which is the ch very real challenges on affordability affordability that the fact that the country has not built enough affordable homes for decades. Build Canada homes focused on that. Shorter term measures on housing affordability. And by the way, Bill, we're in Ottawa. Uh we were together uh on Thursday, I guess Thursday or Friday, uh announcing uh 1100 new rental properties, Build Canada homes, catalyzing alongside 2,000 from the city of Ottawa. Big shift for an agency that was only set up 6 months ago. Now, do I expect everyone on on San Lauron Boulevard uh to know about build candidate homes? No. They're busy people. They don't have to know about that. But they will notice uh the new homes in Sandy Hill, the new homes in uh Nepian, the new homes across uh across Ottawa that are starting construction this summer um and will be on that market as well. They will if they're in a position and not everyone is, and I'll come to other elements of affordability.

[00:35:30]They will notice that we in the province of Ontario combined have removed GST and HST on new home purchases and cut development charges in half which mean up to $200,000 off the cost of a home in Ottawa. In Ottawa. Okay, that's that's real affordability. They will notice on June 5th 12 million Canadians, three and a half million plus in Ontario uh will notice more than that. Actually, I'll I'll check that number and get back to you. um they will notice on June 5th when they get a check for more than $500 for the groceries and essential uh benefit. They are they may not notice but they are getting in their account um the benefits of the middle class tax cut the 22 million Canadian taxpayers benefit from which was the first thing this government did. They will notice and they did notice uh the day after we cut the federal fuel excise tax that the price of the pump here in Ottawa went down 12 cents. So all of these things and they may um uh they may not notice or associate with them but they certainly would notice if they benefit from child care, the Canada Child Benefit, the dental care program, Pharmarmacare, all of these programs that this government is absolutely dedicated to has either enhanced national school food program 800 plus dollars for families. um all of these programs that we put in uh place or reinforced and it's the reason we burn the midnight oil on the on the numbers for spending is to ensure that we continue to deliver those and we're dedicated. So yes, Graeme, I you know the dayto-day is hard. Government has to do and this government is doing more than one thing at one time. Getting up in the morning thinking about affordability, how do we preserve the benefits Canadians have?

[00:37:22]How can we enhance them? How can we give that boost today and a bridge to a better tomorrow? But at the same time, we have to be thinking about how to build a better tomorrow. And in building a better tomorrow, building Canada strong, how do we ensure that all Canadians benefit? Today's announcement, Canada strong fund is part of ensuring that all Canadians, it's another mechanism by which all Canadians, not just some, because you know, lesson of the CPR, you go across this country, there's a lot of things named after Strath Kona. right, Edmonton, Old Strath, Kona district, all that stuff.

[00:37:57]Uh, you know, these CP hotels, some were CP, these palaces they built, those pretty nice. Um, not sure there was uh the benefits of the profits of the CPR were broadly uh shared amongst Canadians. Uh, we're going to change that with nation building projects. Now, >> last followup >> followup. Uh, you you said you're good fiscal managers, but inflation and energy prices have helped the books, too, have they not? Uh well inflation I would I'd remind that inflation in this country uh is for the entire life of this government has been in the Bank of Canada's uh target range. Okay. So there's not been a inflation uh a shift uh in overall inflation. I understand grocery prices uh fuel prices that's why we've taken targeted action. um uh the um doable >> is well I I'm I'm I'm pushing inflation out of your uh pretext because uh that's that's not factually uh correct. I'm sorry if if you can ask a factual question, you'll get a factual answer.

[00:38:58]Um uh are do we have some revenue uh improvements? We have some revenue improvements, but you will see and the Minister of Finance will go through in detail. And I would encourage to go through the annexes and look at the spending uh that we're on top of the spending. We're delivering on our spending commitments. Um and that's what's necessary uh in this environment.

[00:39:18]One last thing, um this country and Canadians have made sacrifices over the years and decisions made over the years. We are the strongest fiscal position of all the major economies. This government is not just preserving that, we're reinforcing it. And we're doing it in a way that's building a country that's more independent, fairer, stronger, more resilient. Um, and you know, today's announcement is part of uh part of ensuring that all of that happens. Thank you very much.

[00:39:48]>> Thank you. this. But Senator Pres.

[00:40:26]I mean, you're