February 2026

Canada. Pension giant taps Peru power play in US$3.4 billion deal

Peru’s push to modernize its power system is pulling in fresh Canadian pension money, with CPP Investments backing a US$3.4bn infrastructure bet tied directly to the country’s energy transition and mining economy. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s investment arm has agreed to acquire a 50 percent stake in Lima-based Inkia Energy alongside Miami-based infrastructure manager I Squared Capital, in a deal that values the company at US$3.4bn including debt. Inkia operates a 2.6GW generation portfolio through Kallpa Generación S.A. and Orazul Energy Peru S.A., supplying power to Peru’s mining-driven economy and positioning the platform...

Canada’s second-largest pension fund axes future DP World deals over Epstein revelations

Canada’s second-largest pension fund is suspending future investment plans with Dubai logistics giant DP World over ties between its CEO and Jeffrey Epstein, Bloomberg reported. A spokesperson for Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec said in a statement: “We have made it clear to the company that we expect it to shed light on the situation and take the necessary actions. Until then, we are pausing additional capital deployment alongside the company.” It follows revelations that Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem,...

January 2026

Canadian pensions diverging in climate approach: report

An advocacy group says there’s an increasing divergence on how big public pensions in Canada are approaching climate action. The group, called Shift: Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health, says in its annual ranking that La Caisse is showing the best results yet while CPPIB is falling behind. Shift says it lowered CPPIB’s ranking because the pension giant removed its stated net-zero goal, has a lack of clarity on a climate strategy and continues to invest in fossil fuels. CPPIB, which...

Canada Pension Plan’s investment arm criticized over funding for Elon Musk’s xAI, maker of Grok

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is facing criticism for having provided $300 million US for the funding of infrastructure for Elon Musk's xAI, the company behind the controversial Grok artificial intelligence chatbot tool. Musk's xAI has been at the centre of controversy in recent months, after it was discovered that Grok made it possible for people to create sexualized and nonconsensual images of others — including minors. Amid widespread backlash, xAI put some restrictions in place on the...

After FTX collapse, Canada’s pension giants swore off crypto — until now when they quietly started circling back

When the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) wrote down their multimillion-dollar stakes in the failed FTX exchange in 2022 (1), it marked a turning point in Canadian institutional investing (2). For most pension executives, the message was clear: Stay far away from crypto. Yet three years later, the tone is shifting. The world’s largest institutional investors — from BlackRock to Singapore’s GIC — are increasing exposure to tokenized assets and digital...

November 2025

Canada. We’re not ready for an aging population — and it’s going to cost us

If there’s a single word that defines the Carney government’s first budget, it has to be “generational.” Canada, we’re told, is facing a “generational” shift, one that requires a “generational” investment strategy featuring “generational” investments. But while the word itself appears 45 times in the nearly 500 page document, it’s never actually used to directly address the true generational challenge we face: a rapidly aging population. This was, and is, a huge missed opportunity. The public is more attuned than...

October 2025

Canada’s largest pension investment manager sued over alleged climate risk mismanagement

Toronto, Ont./ Traditional territories of several First Nations including the Williams Treaties First Nations, Huron-Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewas, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation — Four young people in Canada are taking the sixth largest pension fund manager in the world to court, claiming it is breaching its duty to invest in their best interests by failing to protect their pensions from climate risk. Represented by lawyers from Ecojustice and Goldblatt Partners LLP, Aliya Hirji, Travis Olson,...

September 2025

The climate crisis might jeopardize your retirement: Experts warn Canada’s pension watchdog is underestimating risks

Wildfires, floods and other severe weather events are not going away, they are only becoming more common, part of what scientists have been warning for decades. The economic shocks of changing oceans, the jet stream and the loss of our polar ice caps, as well as mass glacial loss in Canada turning our forests into tinder boxes, will only get worse as global temperatures blow past the tipping point that marked severe planetary distress. For those who have to plan...

Why some of Canada’s biggest pensions are slamming the brakes on U.S. real estate investment

Two of Canada’s largest pension funds say it is getting harder to justify investing in real estate south of the border, but the enormity of the market keeps the United States on their radar. Real estate executives from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) and Alberta Investment Management Corp. (AIMCo), members of Canada’s Maple Eight with close to $300 billion in assets between them at year-end, told a real estate conference run by NAIOP, known as the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, that they...

Canada. Half of retirement income now depends on private savings

Canada’s affordability crisis is leaving many households unable to save for retirement, while outdated public policies no longer reflect current realities. The Securities and Investment Management Association (SIMA) has released an action plan that calls for reform to strengthen Canada’s retirement savings framework and close gaps in the system. Andy Mitchell, SIMA’s president and CEO, said “Our plan lays out achievable, evidence-based strategies that will boost retirement security, enhance flexibility, reduce pressure on public programs, and support long-term economic growth.” He added...