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Prime Minister Mark Carney will on Monday unveil his plan to create Canada’s first sovereign wealth fund, Radio-Canada has learned.
The “Strong Canada Fund” will serve as an investment vehicle used to finance major projects of national interest and will work in partnership with the private sector.
Carney will make the announcement in Ottawa and while specific details regarding how the fund will work have yet to be released, Canadians are expected to be able to contribute to and benefit from the fund.
Bill C-5, Carney’s legislation to speed up approvals for major infrastructure projects identified as being “nation-building,” passed through Parliament last June.
The second half of the bill, the Building Canada Act, enables the federal cabinet to pick projects, approve them upfront and override federal laws, environmental reviews and the permitting process.
The legislation speeds approval times from five years to two by introducing a “one project, one review” approach instead of having federal and provincial approval processes happen sequentially.
The Major Projects Office (MPO), which Carney created last August is the central place to make pitches, deliver complaints or express concerns about major projects.
When he announced the MPO, Carney said it would “help structure and co-ordinate financing from the private sector, provincial and territorial partners” and the federal government to ensure taxpayers get value for money.
Details of how the MPO and the new fund will work together are expected later this morning.
