On April 27, Mark Carney announced the creation of the Canada Strong Fund, which he claims is Canada’s first sovereign wealth fund. But this is just a glitzy rebranding of what Carney and other Canadian politicians have been doing for years: borrowing money to give handouts to corporations, while working people foot the bill. It’s just one of Carney’s latest cons.
What’s wrong with Canada Strong?
The creation of the Canada Strong Fund, far from being a sign of strength, is an admission of weakness. Normally, a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) is amassed over the years from surplus revenue (hence the “wealth” in the name). But the initial $25 billion for Carney’s fund will be borrowed! So, rather than accruing wealth, the Canada Strong fund will be adding to the federal government’s $1.35 trillion worth of debt.
But not only is the creation of this fund an admission that they have no real “wealth”—it is also an admission of the fact that Carney is having trouble finding private investors for the big “nation building projects,” he has made a bunch of noise about. As we predicted, Carney is simply using the state to provide what will be corporate subsidies in all but name.
It is also unlikely this will work. The track record of the government offering corporate handouts is in fact littered with failures. Look to Northvolt in Québec, or Stellantis and GM in Ontario—Canadian capitalists are already heavily subsidized, living off the public dime like giant mooches. And yet, they keep taking the money, lining their pockets and running, closing up shop and leaving mass unemployment in their wake. The Canada Strong fund will be yet another example of this direct wealth transfer, from working people’s pockets into the capitalists’ coffers.
Nationalization is the only logical solution
Carney’s $25 billion investment into the Canada Strong Fund will come at the expense of the working class, further plunging the country into debt. The same national debt that’s used repeatedly as an excuse to make cuts is being massively expanded to pad corporate profits. Carney is attempting to pay his way out of the crisis of capitalism the Canadian economy finds itself in, but no matter how much public money he tries to throw at the rich, they will never prioritize the needs of working class people.
Instead of trying to bribe investors, the only logical solution is to nationalize these parasites, seize the wealth created through the labour of hardworking Canadians and use it to solve all of the burning questions we face today.
