Canada’s finance minister said the country’s planned sovereign wealth fund will be designed to allow citizens to contribute to major nation-building projects, but isn’t intended to reduce their tax burdens.
“We already have a number of tax credits to facilitate savings and investments,” Francois-Philippe Champagne said in an interview on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Group of Seven meetings in Paris.
“This is not a tax play. This is about Canadians being able to contribute,” he said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the Canada Strong Fund last month, saying his government will seed $25 billion into the vehicle to provide financing for large infrastructure projects and domestic companies.
Officials have offered few details as to how the fund will operate. But the government pledged to include a retail element that will allow Canadians to invest alongside public funds, potentially giving them a stake in major projects such as pipelines and ports that are meant to grow Canada’s non-U.S. exports.
“This is more about people being able to be part of growing or building the nation,” Champagne said. “Unless you’re a qualified investor, most of these large infrastructure projects, unless you invest in a very specific fund, would not be broadly available to Canadians.”
The fund is still being developed pending consultations, so it’s possible some tax incentives could eventually be included.
The country’s personal tax regime has been regularly criticized for stifling productivity , with some analysts suggesting the highest income bracket kicks in too low.
Carney has pledged to boost private investment in Canada by $500 billion in half a decade.
Oil shock
Champagne said the Paris meetings were focused on the war in the Middle East and the subsequent spike in oil prices. There was widespread consensus for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz .
“The call was unanimous to stop the hostility as quickly as possible to restore freedom of navigation and look at what we could do on a humanitarian basis,” Champagne said.
He also raised concerns about the so-called secondary impacts of the war, including the potential affordability damage from higher prices for fertilizer and semiconductors.
At the same time, the conflict and the spike in crude oil prices are also making Canada stand out as an “energy superpower,” Champagne argued. The recent memorandum of understanding with the oil rich-province of Alberta to build a new pipeline to the west coast is catching international attention, he said.
“Colleagues around the table certainly look at Canada to play a larger role when it comes to energy security,” he said. “We have already taken a number of steps to increase our production, whether it’s about in conventional or renewable energy.”
As global bond yields rise, Champagne pushed back on the notion that higher borrowing costs would worsen Canada’s fiscal position. He pointed to federal measures to address affordability concerns, including tax rebates to help with rising food costs and a reduction in gas taxes, saying they have been “very targeted and time limited.”
The federal government published a fiscal update last month that showed Canada continues to spend heavily on infrastructure, housing and temporary affordability relief. The Department of Finance expects the country will run a $65.3 billion shortfall this fiscal year.