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On Tuesday's live stream, Sheila Gunn Reid and Lise Merle reacted to Mark Carney announcing the creation of Canada's first 'sovereign wealth fund' earlier this week.

Carney described the fund to reporters on Monday as "essentially a national savings and investment account." Similar sovereign wealth funds are currently being used around the world by countries such as Saudi Arabia and Norway, although nations like these maintain budget surpluses or utilize vast natural resources to accumulate wealth.

Critics of the announcement, including Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner, condemned the fund in light of Canada's massive deficit. 

To be fair, this headline is wrong.

It would be a "debt fund" not a "wealth fund".

True sovereign wealth funds like Norway's are built from surpluses. Canada is running massive deficits.

This is akin to a man who's in debt borrowing hundreds of thousands to buy stocks. https://t.co/WydXI5BmVd

— Michelle Rempel Garner (@MichelleRempel) April 27, 2026

Lise also criticized the new fund, noting Canada's precarious financial situation and declining quality of life. "This is a crazy idea that has been unleashed upon a public that is screaming for help, that's in an affordability crisis, that's in a overly-tax-burdened crisis. This is a crazy idea from a crazed man," she said.

Carney told reporters that it will still take several months to finalize the fund, with it ultimately being managed by an independent Crown corporation that will report directly to Parliament.

With the federal deficit for 2025/26 now projected at $66.9 billion and persistent shortfalls expected in the coming years, critics argue that seeding the $25 billion Canada Strong Fund with borrowed money risks turning it into a sovereign debt fund rather than a true wealth-building vehicle like Norway’s $2-trillion-plus fund.