A $5-billion investment fund created under Mark Carney’s leadership at Brookfield Asset Management was registered in the Cayman Islands tax haven, according to records obtained by Radio-Canada.
That’s in addition to two other funds totalling $25 billion that were registered in Bermuda, another offshore tax haven, when the Liberal leader was on the firm’s board of directors from 2020 to 2025.
In all three cases, the structures are legal, respect international tax standards and are commonly used by investment firms. They also ensure Canadian investors pay taxes on the profits from their investments in Canada, and not in foreign countries.
Brookfield declined to comment on its use of tax havens as part of the structuring of its funds. In past public statements, the firm has insisted it does not engage in tax avoidance, and that all its entities pay all required taxes in the jurisdictions in which they operate.
The Liberal Party directed questions to Brookfield.
“Mr. Carney worked for Brookfield from August 2020 to January 2025 and no longer has any involvement in the firm,” said Liberal spokesperson Mohammad Hussain.
Other political parties have said the firm’s use of tax havens raises questions about Carney’s activities in the private sector, and his possible management of tax issues if the Liberal Party wins the April 28 election.
The Conservatives also criticize the fact that Carney did not make public which assets he placed in a blind trust when he became Liberal leader and prime minister last month, including those he would have acquired during his time at Brookfield.
Earlier this week, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre minimized the value of Carney’s time in the corporate world, alleging his Liberal counterpart benefited from his political connections to increase his personal net worth.
“He needs to immediately release his personal financial holdings so Canadians can judge for themselves,” Conservative MP Michael Barrett said in a statement.
A question of ‘efficiency’
In response to multiple questions from the media during the campaign, the Liberal leader has said the decision to register two Brookfield funds in Bermuda was a question of “efficiency,” not tax avoidance.
“The flow-through of the funds goes to Canadian entities who then pay the taxes appropriately, as opposed to taxes being paid multiple times before they get there. So that’s how we have this structure. That’s the structure that all of our pension funds follow,” Carney said on March 26.
Brookfield’s two funds registered in Bermuda are the Brookfield Global Transition Fund ($15 billion) and the Brookfield Global Transition Fund II ($10 billion), launched in 2021 and 2024 respectively.
The third fund registered in the Cayman Islands is called the Catalytic Transition Fund. Launched in 2024, it aims to invest $5 billion in the field of “clean energy and transition assets.” Unlike two other funds, the Catalytic Transition Fund specifically aims to invest in projects located in emerging markets.
The fund’s initial investor was Altérra, financed by the United Arab Emirates and billed as the largest private climate investment fund. The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec also eventually invested in the fund, among others.
‘It means you’re making money’
Tax expert Jean-Pierre Vidal, a professor of accounting sciences at HEC Montréal, says the use of tax havens remains poorly understood by many citizens, especially because their use has been severely restricted in recent years.
“As far as Canada is concerned, tax havens are used to reduce taxes paid in foreign countries,” Vidal said, explaining they help companies pay more taxes in their home country when their investments are repatriated.
Still, he said jurisdictions with low or minimal levels of corporate taxes help reduce costs for companies like Brookfield.
“Canada was not a loser — in fact, it was a winner — but it’s certain that these companies made more money because they were in these places. This is what we mean by efficiency…. It means you’re making money.”
The European Union publishes a list of “non-co-operative” jurisdictions for tax purposes, but neither Bermuda nor the Cayman Islands has been on it since 2019.
According to accounting firm PwC, there is no corporate tax in the Cayman Islands, while Bermuda introduced a 15 per cent corporate tax rate this year, with a series of exemptions for some corporate entities. Brookfield’s funds registered in Bermuda are private and their exact taxation status is unknown.
Political opponents take aim
The Conservative Party has kept on raising potential conflicts of interest stemming from Carney’s time at Brookfield, which is particularly active in the field of renewable energy and green technologies.
The Conservatives also criticize the fact that Carney did not disclose the assets that he placed in a blind trust when he became Liberal leader and prime minister last month, including those he would have acquired during his time at Brookfield from 2020 to 2025.
Earlier this week, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre minimized the value of Carney’s time in the private sector, alleging his Liberal counterpart benefited from his political connections to increase his personal net worth.
Carney has said he created his blind trust in collaboration with the ethics commissioner, and that anti-conflict screens are in place to avoid any discussion affecting Brookfield.
Last week, the leader of the NDP promised to put an end to tax agreements between Canada and jurisdictions like Bermuda.
“We lose tens of billions of dollars every year because of tax havens, because of big companies avoiding countries their fair share,” said Jagmeet Singh.
Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet called on the Liberal leader to “reveal his foreign assets.”
“Mr. Carney thinks that taxes are simply for normal people, and not for millionaires or billionaires like him,” the Bloc leader said.
