Mark Carney’s appointment as economic platform adviser to Justin Trudeau has prompted criticism by Conservatives and sustainable finance market watchers who say the executive at Brookfield Asset Management cannot balance his role in the Liberal party’s re-election effort with new marching orders at the corporate giant to double its massive trillion-dollar portfolio in the next few years.
Last week, Trudeau named Carney, the former head of the central banks of Canada and England and United Nations envoy on climate change and finance, as chair of a Liberal “leader’s task force on economic growth.”
On Sept. 10, the same day Carney presented himself at the Liberal caucus in Nanaimo, Brookfield president Connor Teskey told investors the company wants to double its size from $1 trillion assets under management to $2 trillion by 2029 by boosting fundraising and buying new businesses.
Carney remains chair of the board of directors at Brookfield, where he is also the head of transition investing for the company. The Toronto-based multinational is one of the largest investment managers in the world, with holdings in real estate, infrastructure and private equity.
The Liberals say they engaged Carney to “develop new ideas for the next phase of Canada’s strategy for near- and longer-term economic growth and productivity.”
Because Carney has not been appointed as an adviser to the government, but will report to Trudeau and the Liberal party, he is not a public office holder subject to the federal Conflict of Interest Act which requires officials to disclose their private interests in the name of transparency and accountability and to ensure any conflicts that arise are resolved “in the public interest.”
Critics, including the federal Conservatives, suggest Carney has an overriding duty to act in the financial interests of Brookfield and its shareholders, and that acting in the public interest is not his top priority.
Conservative ethics critic Michael Barrett noted in an interview that Carney sits on several other corporate boards, and that in his new role with the Liberals, he is “holding, effectively, coast-to-coast prebudget consultations. He’s acting in place of the finance minister, advising the government on financial matters, advising the Liberal party on their next platform.”
Carney’s appointment as a party adviser was made “simply to subvert the rules,” and “only so that Mr. Carney can advise the government while keeping his other lucrative roles,” Barrett charged.
“Mr. Carney is actively pursuing, in all but an official way, a role to be the next leader of the Liberal party,” he said. “It’s political Ottawa’s worst-kept secret, and it’s a pretty small fig leaf to say that this is simply advising the party and not advising the policymakers.”
The Liberal party did not respond to a question about what ethical guidelines will govern Carney as he works in this new political role, but said he is a volunteer, and that it’s “common practice for political parties to seek outside advice.”
Carney was not available for an interview, but replied to the Star’s questions in a written response that echoed the Liberal party’s in part. He underscored he is working for the party, not the government, in a volunteer capacity and that it is “commonplace for all political parties to seek broad input and outside ideas.”
He also cited his track record as proof of his ethical integrity.
“I have long balanced public and private duties with integrity and in compliance with all applicable rules in my various roles, and am confident I will do so in my role as chair of the leader’s task force on economic growth as well,” Carney wrote.
“The recommendations will also be shared with the public, further promoting transparency and the opportunity for public debate.”
Carney added he would not “prejudge the work ahead or ideas we’ll hear, though as chair of the task force, I am proud to support the Liberal party’s long tradition of valuing input from a wide range of perspectives in developing a bright economic future for all Canadians.”
In a statement to the Star, Liberal party spokesman Parker Lund declined to say whether anyone other than Carney will be appointed to the task force, saying that more details would be available “in the coming weeks.”
Lund also dismissed the Conservatives’ concerns. “This is a laughable stunt from the Conservative party,” he said. “The Conservatives are just upset that Mark Carney supports the Liberal economic plan and not Pierre Poilievre’s disastrous cuts that would damage the economy.”
But critics of Carney’s track record at Brookfield question the sincerity of his commitment to “ensure that we get the private sector to provide what people want, what Canadians want,” as he told reporters in Nanaimo.
Carney joined Brookfield in 2020 as vice-chair of the board and head of environmental, social and governance investing — developing investment products that are, essentially, good for the environment. Less than a year later, Brookfield reported becoming “a signatory to the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative to support the ambition of achieving net zero (greenhouse gas) emissions by 2050 or sooner.”
But so far, less than a quarter of its assets under management are in alignment with net-zero, “with no clear timeline for increasing that number,” according to a 2023 report by Investors for Paris Compliance, an organization aimed at holding Canadian publicly traded companies accountable to net-zero commitments.
Other critics, such as those in the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP), a non-profit watchdog organization focused on the private equity industry, have raised questions about the credibility of Brookfield’s climate goals and Carney’s role as the head of transition investing, suggesting that he cannot be trusted to ignore Brookfield’s corporate interests in his new role.
Matt Parr, communications director at PESP, says Carney’s rhetoric doesn’t match his record.
“What we’ve found is that, in his role, he and the investments Brookfield has done have been contrary to some of that rhetoric and his public persona in past years,” said Parr. “Will that juxtaposition keep going forward?”
In addition to serving as board chair, Carney is a paid employee of Brookfield, unlike some other directors on its board who are independent from the company’s management. His compensation is directly connected to investment returns and he is incentivized to see the company perform well. While Brookfield is not required to publicly disclose how much he makes, the median compensation for board chairs among 76 Canadian companies in 2023 was $423,000 — half in cash and half in equity.
Richard Powers, a professor at the Rotman School of Management who specializes in corporate governance, downplayed concerns about Carney, noting that he can recuse himself from certain discussions or resolutions when there is a potential conflict, such as whether there should be tax advantages for private equity.
“The reality is, to get someone of his calibre and experience, it’ll be rare — if not impossible — not to have some conflicts of interest or a perception of conflicts,” Powers said.
“There’s another option: Sideline him and then we don’t have the benefit of his experience and wisdom. Does that make any sense? No.”
The federal Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner declined to comment, saying Carney does not fall under the commissioner’s authority.
Brookfield did not respond to the Star’s requests for comment.
The Liberal party work that Carney has agreed to do is separate from and unrelated to a different working group on productivity that is focused on improving productivity in the public sector, announced last week by Treasury Board President Anita Anand.
In an interview, Anand referred questions about any ethical screens or guidelines Carney must comply with to the Liberal party, telling the Star, “I have full confidence that Mark Carney will be able to deliver what the prime minister has asked of him.”
Anand told the Star the working group she names will focus will examine adoption of new technologies including artificial intelligence, the overhaul of existing systems and integrating digital technologies, as well as potential changes to legislation. She said when it comes to its as-yet unnamed members, all the ethical “checks and balances are going to be undertaken for sure.”
