CPP Investment Board

The Canada Pension Plan was established in 1966. For much of its history, the plan relied on contributions to pay benefits. By 1996, the federal government had determined that the CPP as then constituted was unsustainable. Changes were made to the plan, gradually increasing the contribution rate to its current 9.9% and creating the CPP Investment Board.

Under the direction of then Minister of Finance Paul Martin, the CPP Investment Board was created by an Act of Parliament in 1997 as an independent, but accountable, body to monitor the funds held by the Canada Pension Plan. The CPP Investment Board began its investing program in 1999, establishing the CPP Reserve Fund to hold investment earnings and CPP contributions not needed to pay current pensions. It reports quarterly to the public on its performance, has a professional board of directors to oversee the operations of the CPP reserve fund, and also to plan changes in direction. As a Crown corporation, the CPP Investment Board is accountable to Parliament and reports annually through the Minister of Finance. While accountable to Parliament, the CPP Investment Board is not controlled by the government or subject to government appointments, its employees and directors are not part of the Public Service of Canada. CPPIB is a partner of the World Economic Forum.

Criticism

In 2009, executives of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board took a 31.4% cut in their bonuses after questions were raised about the level of compensation at the crown corporation.

As worldwide concern for global climate change implications increasingly call on institutional divestment from fossil fuels, CPPIB has also been criticized for failing to do so, both on climate grounds and financial loss.

CPPIB and other institutional investors involved in rental housing and REITs, have been blamed for rising rents and evictions, and hailed for increasing and renovating supply, in Canada and abroad. The financialization of housing has become a prominent political debate in Canada. In 2022, then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to address the issue with new tax policy but abandoned this idea in May 2024.

In May 2019, Conservative MP Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard) criticized the CPPIB during a meeting of the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance for its indirect investments in two Chinese firms, Hikvision and Dahua Technology, which supply surveillance technology to the Chinese government used to repress Uyghurs in China's western Xinjiang region. CPPIB CEO Mark Machin stated that the holdings are part of indices which CPPIB invests in and that those investments had been red-flagged for potential future divestment.

The firm's former CEO Mark Machin resigned following a controversy surrounding his choice to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the United Arab Emirates, whilst Canada was still struggling to acquire vaccines.

CPPIB has received criticism surrounding the selection of its performance targets. In fiscal year 2025, it adopted a new set of benchmark portfolios claimed to better reflect their investment strategies. However, CPPIB missed these targets in fiscal years 2025 and 2026. Critics raised governance concerns upon noting that, combined with an updated compensation plan, this resulted in increased bonuses for staff and executives.