Brookfield’s 50-billion-dollar “Maple Fund” is back — years after the investment giant first pitched the concept while Carney was still its chair and advising the Trudeau government.
Brookfield and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have launched a massive 50-billion-dollar Canadian investment fund — reviving a concept Brookfield pitched while Prime Minister Mark Carney was still its chair and advising the Trudeau government.
Brookfield Asset Management and CPP Investments will each commit up to $25 billion over five years to the new “Maple Fund,” according to The Globe and Mail.
The deal was announced Tuesday at the Canada Investment Summit led by Carney, who previously served as Brookfield’s chair and head of transition investing before leaving the asset manager to run for public office.
Each Maple Fund investment will be worth at least $5 billion, with Brookfield and CPP Investments each holding a 50 per cent equity stake. The money would come on top of their normal investment activity.
The Maple Fund idea dates back to Carney’s time at Brookfield.
Brookfield first floated the $50 billion domestic fund two years ago, with the concept since evolving into an equal partnership with CPP Investments.
Pitch documents obtained by The Logic in 2024 described Brookfield’s proposed Maple Fund as the “largest-ever private pool of capital dedicated to investing in the Canadian economy.”
At the time, Carney was Brookfield’s chair while simultaneously advising then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as chair of a Liberal economic growth task force.
Questions about a potential Carney conflict were already being raised around the proposal.
Sources told The Logic at the time that a potential conflict involving Carney — given his Brookfield role and work advising Trudeau — could prevent the fund from materializing.
The original plan sought $4 billion from Brookfield, $36 billion from pension funds and $10 billion from Ottawa. The new version instead has Brookfield and CPP Investments committing up to $25 billion each, with no reported federal investment.
The timing puts Carney’s Brookfield ties back in the spotlight, with a fund concept pitched while he was chair now unveiled at a summit he leads.
The Globe reported Brookfield-CPP Investments talks predated Carney’s summit, with no evidence he personally directed the deal.
The Maple Fund is designed to make large-scale equity investments in infrastructure and sectors considered strategically important to Canada.
CPP Investments CEO John Graham said Canada is entering a period of “new ambition” to build major projects.
“Canada is entering a period of new ambition to advance major projects and build for the future, creating compelling investment opportunities across the country,” Graham said.
Graham is also a co-organizer of Carney’s Canada Investment Summit.
Brookfield CEO Connor Teskey said the partnership combines CPP Investments’ capital with Brookfield’s development and operating expertise.
“By combining CPP Investments’ scale and long-term capital with Brookfield’s development and operating capabilities, we believe the Maple Fund can help drive a generational investment program to invest in critical infrastructure, industries and businesses that will support the growth of globally competitive Canadian businesses,” Teskey said.
Both partners will independently assess and underwrite each deal, while other investors could participate on a project-by-project basis.
Brookfield’s original Maple Fund proposal went considerably further than the structure now being reported.
Beyond seeking $10 billion from Ottawa, Brookfield’s pitch envisioned investments across housing, data centres, telecommunications, nuclear energy and renewable energy.
The documents also identified “opportunistic situations,” including potentially privatizing Crown lottery corporations and investing in major Canadian businesses undergoing transformations.
Brookfield’s presentation envisioned hundreds of billions of dollars in potential Canadian investments, many aligning with federal priorities such as housing, infrastructure, re-shoring supply chains and clean energy.
The domestic push comes shortly after Brookfield and CPP Investments teamed up to acquire New York-based LXP Industrial Trust for $5.2 billion (USD), gaining 108 U.S. properties spanning 53 million square feet.
CPP Investments has defended its Canadian investments, with executive Michel Leduc calling Canada a “very solid market” while stressing returns drive investment decisions.
At an April committee hearing, Conservative MP Sandra Cobena cited an RBC report estimating more than $1 trillion in investment left Canada between 2015 and 2024. Leduc declined to explain the reported exodus, noting Canada represents less than three per cent of global investment opportunities.
Now Brookfield’s 50-billion-dollar Maple Fund concept is poised to take shape in a new form — with Carney no longer in Brookfield’s boardroom, but in the Prime Minister’s Office.