Carney's green funds at Brookfield used Bermuda tax haven to attract investors

In his time at Brookfield Asset Management, Liberal Leader Mark Carney personally co-chaired two investment funds dedicated to the transition to a net-zero carbon economy, worth a total of $25 billion.

Those funds were registered in Bermuda, among other locations, allowing investors to benefit from significant tax advantages, according to information obtained by Radio-Canada.

The funds created while Carney was on Brookfield's board of directors are the Brookfield Global Transition Fund ($15 billion) and the Brookfield Global Transition Fund II ($10 billion), launched in 2021 and 2024 respectively.

According to the Ontario Business Registry, the funds were registered in Bermuda under the names of BGTF Bermuda GP Ltd. and BGTF II Bermuda GP Ltd.

In both cases, the provincial registry indicates that the "governing jurisdiction" for the corporations is located in Bermuda.

The legal structure of the Brookfield funds is complex and includes many jurisdictions. However, experts say their registration in Bermuda raises questions about Carney's approach to fiscal policy in Canada.

"All sorts of companies are doing this … but [Brookfield] are one of the biggest users of this kind of scheme," said Silas Xuereb, political analyst with the group Canadians for Fair Taxation.

He says he hopes the next federal government will impose new limits on the use of tax havens, in particular by ending bilateral agreements with countries like Bermuda and strengthening international treaties to curb tax evasion.

Xuereb said it may seem "ironic" that environmental funds were registered in a tax haven.

But he said Carney was understandably motivated by profit in the private sector, and hopes that the Liberal leader "will have very different goals now that he is in political power."

Conservative MP Michael Barrett said Carney should explain Brookfield's use of foreign entities.

"Mark Carney needs to explain to Canadians why he used offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes for the funds he set up and managed. Canadians deserve a leader who will put Canada first," said Barrett in a written statement.

On Wednesday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh criticized Carney and said the Liberal leader "chose to register [the funds] in another country to avoid paying those taxes. That's less money for health care. Less money for seniors. That's less investments in our country."

According to press releases issued by Brookfield at the time, BGTF and BGTF II were "co-headed" by Carney. The other manager of the funds was Connor Teskey, CEO of Brookfield Renewable Power.