Canada’s federal government wants its largest pension funds to invest more in domestic companies, and is hiring the former governor of the central bank to entice them.
Stephen Poloz, who led the Bank of Canada from 2013 to 2020, is charged with convincing Canada’s pension funds, which manage more than C$4tn ($2.89tn), to allocate more capital at home.
The announcement, part of Ottawa’s federal budget released on Tuesday, comes after nearly 100 Canadian executives signed an open letter in March urging pension funds to up their domestic investments. The letter said domestic companies make up 4 per cent of Canadian pension funds’ assets, down from 28 per cent at the end fof 2000.
Canada’s main stock index, the S&P/TSX Composite, has advanced 31 per cent in the last five years, compared to a 74 per cent gain for the S&P 500.