Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will serve as the board chair for AIMCo. Palinchak/Dreamstime.com

By David Opinko

PROVINCE

Ex-PM Stephen Harper to chair Alberta Investment Management Corporation

Nov 20, 2024 | 11:32 AM

A former Canadian prime minister will take the lead on the Alberta government’s investment agency.

Stephen Harper has been appointed to chair the Alberta Investment Management Corporation, otherwise known as AIMCo, the province said Wednesday.

He will help oversee AIMCo’s efforts to restore confidence and stability in Alberta’s investment management agency.

“I am taking on this role, and doing so on a pro-bono basis, because I believe it is a meaningful act of public service to my adopted home province of the last 46 years. I also feel uniquely positioned to help the organization improve its governance,” Harper said in a statement.

Harper, the former leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, said Canadian pensions have earned a global reputation thanks to professional operations, upstanding ethics and prudent fiscal management.

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“I have accepted the role of board chair because I want to see AIMCO further embody these values and to positively contribute to this culture,” added Harper.

“I look forward to working with the new board of directors and AIMCO’s new management team.”

In recent years, the province says AIMCo’s operating costs, management fees and staffing have increased significantly without a corresponding increase in returns on investment.

Premier Danielle Smith said it is fortunate that Harper has agreed to take on this role, and she believes he has what it takes.

“Our ambitious goal of building the Heritage Savings Trust Fund to more than $250 billion in the next 25 years requires strong governance oversight, which he will provide,” Smith said in a statement.

“His appointment, and that of the rest of the board, are a strong step forward in giving all Albertans confidence in the long-term sustainability and success of AIMCo.”

Harper was Canada’s prime minister for nearly one decade, from February 2006 to November 2015.

He is now the chair and CEO of Harper and Associates, a global consulting and strategic advisory business that he founded in 2016.

However, Public Interest Alberta’s executive director Bradley Lafortune, wasn’t so pleased to hear the news.

“Stephen Harper has no direct experience with pensions. No politician should be in charge of any one pensioner’s retirement, let alone the 375,000 Albertans who are now under the direct control of Stephen Harper,” says Lafortune. “Harper infamously introduced two-tiered pensions in 2012 while serving as prime minister. He is a multi-millionaire who is out of touch with the average working Albertan. Public Interest Alberta will not stop campaigning for Albertans’ retirement security until public sector pensions are secure and the CPP is safe from the hands of Danielle Smith and Stephen Harper.”