The Alberta government has announced a long-term plan and a new Crown corporation to grow the province’s Heritage Fund to $250 billion over the next 25 years in a bid to protect its economy from the “volatility” of the energy sector.
The fund’s growth stalled in recent decades due to limited contributions and the government’s spending rather than reinvesting earnings, Finance Minister Nate Horner said at a Jan. 29 press conference. The new plan prioritizes reinvesting annual profits, ensuring that both capital and returns remain in the fund until 2050.
The province expects the fund to then have reached $250 billion, when the government can start using some of the accrued interest to fund public services and infrastructure. The fund stood at $24.3 billion as of last September….