Canada just did what the United States promised to do 15 months ago. On February 3, 2025, Trump signed an executive order for a U.S. sovereign wealth fund \u2014 one that would cut taxes on American families and small businesses, and secure the country’s economic future for generations (1).<\/p>\n
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stood beside him that day and told reporters the fund would be up and running within 12 months (2). This week, Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the same thing for Canada and called it the “Canada Strong Fund”.<\/p>\n
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“This will be a Government of Canada fund, but more importantly, this will be a people’s fund. It will be your fund,” Carney told reporters at a press conference on April 27 in Ottawa (3).<\/p>\n
The Canada Strong Fund would be Canada’s first national sovereign wealth fund, with an initial government endowment of $25 billion (4). It’ll invest in strategic country projects including energy, infrastructure, mining, agriculture and technology, alongside private investors. Canadians can also buy into it directly through a retail investment product, like a government bond.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, it’s now been 15 months since Trump directed the Treasury and Commerce secretaries to develop a plan for an American sovereign wealth fund (SWF) within 90 days (5). There is no fund, no launch date and there isn’t even yet a confirmed plan.<\/p>\n
What a sovereign wealth fund is, and why countries want one <\/p>\n
A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment vehicle that holds and deploys government money into financial assets like stocks, bonds, real estate, infrastructure and private equity, with the goal of generating long-term returns for the public.<\/p>\n
There are more than 100 of them worldwide, according to the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds, worth over $16 trillion in assets, including the Norway Government Pension Fund Global worth over $2 trillion, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority worth over $1 trillion (6).<\/p>\n
The appeal of these sovereign funds is that governments that sit on natural resources, trade surpluses or large asset bases can invest that wealth rather than spend it, to build a cushion against future deficits and generate returns that benefit citizens over time.<\/p>\n
Story Continues <\/p>\n
Read More: This $1B private real estate fund is now accessible to non-millionaires. Start investing with just $10<\/a><\/p>\n What Trump ordered and what happened next <\/p>\n The White House executive order says the purpose of the fund is to “promote fiscal sustainability, lessen the burden of taxes on American families and small businesses, establish economic security for future generations, and promote United States economic and strategic leadership internationally (5).”<\/p>\n Bessent told reporters the administration would “monetize the asset side of the U.S. balance sheet for the American people (7).” The White House Fact Sheet announced that the federal government has $5.7 trillion in assets that could be used to fund the SWF (1).<\/p>\n Treasury and Commerce submitted a plan within the 90-day deadline, but according to CBS News, the White House pushed back on Treasury’s approach. “Details on the mechanics of the fund continue to be debated, and no announcement is imminent,” a source told CBS (8). The White House confirmed the plan had been submitted but said “no final decisions have yet been made.”<\/p>\n That was May 2025. Nothing public has happened since then.<\/p>\n The Peterson Institute for International Economics, a nonpartisan Washington think tank, called the initiative (9) “a confused solution to an undefined problem.” Its researchers noted the administration had yet to explain what type of fund it wanted and that the U.S., running a roughly $2 trillion annual deficit, lacks the fiscal surplus that most sovereign wealth funds are built on.<\/p>\n What Canada is building, and the criticism it’s facing <\/p>\n Canada has the same problem. The Canada Strong Fund is being seeded with borrowed money, unlike other countries like Norway funding their SWF through budget surpluses.<\/p>\n Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the fund was built on a flawed premise. “Putting another $25 billion on the national credit card to pad a Liberal slush fund will not change that,” he told reporters on Parliament Hill, according to CBC News (3).<\/p>\n Montreal Economic Institute economist Emmanuelle Faubert also told CTV News (10) that the Norwegian model Carney invoked “is not funded on debt,” adding that Canada is “taking money that should instead go towards clearing deficits.”<\/p>\n Norway’s fund \u2014 which Carney held up as a benchmark \u2014 is built on decades of oil revenue surpluses and has strict rules limiting how much the government can withdraw annually. Canada, on the other hand, has no surplus and no rule governing the federal government from taking as much as it wants.<\/p>\n What it means for Americans <\/p>\n For now, the U.S. fund is still an executive order that hasn’t been implemented. The White House has made no announcement on timeline, structure or funding source since May 2025. Whether it materializes before the end of Trump’s term, or becomes another high-profile announcement that doesn’t move forward is an open question.<\/p>\n Both countries are experiencing the same limitations, and that’s because sovereign wealth funds thrive when governments have surplus cash to invest. Norway had North Sea oil revenue. Singapore had trade surpluses. The Gulf states had petroleum.<\/p>\n Both the U.S. and Canada are trying to build these funds while running significant deficits, which is less like Norway investing its oil windfall and more like taking out a loan to open a brokerage account.<\/p>\n You May Also Like <\/p>\n Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywise\u2019s best stories and exclusive interviews first \u2014 clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.<\/a><\/p>\n Article Sources <\/p>\n We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n The White House (1)<\/a>,(5)<\/a>; CNBC (2)<\/a>; CBC News (3)<\/a>; Office of the Prime Minister of Canada (4)<\/a>; Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute (6)<\/a>; YouTube (7)<\/a>; CBS News (8)<\/a>; Peterson Institute for International Economics (9)<\/a>; BNN Bloomberg (10)<\/a><\/p>\n This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com<\/a> under the title: Trump promised a sovereign wealth fund 15 months ago. Canada just beat him to it with $25 billion<\/a><\/p>\n This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Canada just did what the United States promised to do 15 months ago. 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