Carney unveils $18 billion Canadian government-owned investment fund

ABC NewsLiveVideoShowsShopInterest Successfully AddedWe'll notify you here with news aboutTurn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? OffOnStream onCarney unveils $18 billion Canadian government-owned investment fundCanada's prime minister says the country is developing a government-owned investment fundByROB GILLIES Associated PressApril 27, 2026, 10:20 AM1:19Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during an announcement on the Canada Strong Fund, Canada's first sovereign wealth fund in Ottawa on Monday, April 27, 2026. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)The Associated PressTORONTO -- Canada is developing a government-owned investment fund, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday.Carney said that the fund would invest in major Canadian industrial projects, in areas such as energy, infrastructure, mining, agriculture and technology. It will begin at 25 billion Canadian dollars ($18 billion).The prime minister said that the federal government will provide funds alongside private investors. The money will help finance projects that Carney's government is focused on building, as Canada seeks to diversify away from the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump has been threatening Canada’s economy and sovereignty with tariffs, most offensively by claiming Canada could become the 51st U.S. state.“Many of our former strengths built on our close ties to the United States have become our weaknesses,” Carney said. “The U.S. has changed. That’s their right and we are responding. That is our imperative.”Carney is a former two-time central banker in England and Canada, as well as ex-chair of Bloomberg's board of directors. Popular ReadsDeath toll from bus bombing in southwest Colombia rises to 20 during a wave of violenceApr 26, 1:14 PMTaiwan court sentences ex-Tokyo Electron staff to 10 years in TSMC trade secrets caseApr 27, 5:10 AMArgentina's leader bars journalists from government HQ, raising concerns about press freedomApr 27, 10:01 AM“We take a lesson from other jurisdictions that had the foresight many decades ago to start sovereign wealth funds,” Carney said, “In some cases, they began with a domestic focus, then outgrew the scale of the domestic focus.”Sovereign wealth funds invest in assets such as stocks, bonds and real estate. They are typically funded by a country’s budgetary surplus, which Canada currently doesn't have. The announcement came a day before Carney's government is due to announce its spring economic update.There are more than 90 sovereign wealth funds around the world that manage more than $8 trillion in assets, according to The International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds, a London-based organization made up of roughly 50 of these entities.Trump ordered the creation of U.S. sovereign wealth fund last year. In the U.S., more than 20 sovereign wealth funds exist at the state level, according to an analysis by the Center for Global Development, a Washington-based nonpartisan think tank.Sponsored Content by TaboolaPopular ReadsLeaders of France and Greece say the EU's defense splurge is no alternative to the NATO allianceApr 25, 9:53 AMTaiwan court sentences ex-Tokyo Electron staff to 10 years in TSMC trade secrets caseApr 27, 5:10 AMArgentina's leader bars journalists from government HQ, raising concerns about press freedomApr 27, 10:01 AMDeath toll from bus bombing in southwest Colombia rises to 20 during a wave of violenceApr 26, 1:14 PMABC News Live24/7 coverage of breaking news and live…

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