Congratulations, Canada! On Monday, our nation joined an exclusive club: countries with sovereign wealth funds.

Norway, Kuwait and other resource-rich nations have long tapped royalties and budget surpluses to fund investment vehicles: In this era of geopolitical uncertainty and an erratic neighbour, Prime Minister Mark Carney thinks it’s time Canada does the same.

Problem is, we’re tapping debt, not revenue.

When asked where the initial $25 billion will come from for Carney’s Canada Strong Fund — the country’s “first sovereign wealth fund” — Finance Minister François Philippe Champagne admitted that it will be borrowed.

But that’s OK, because we’ll get great rates. “I would say there’s only two countries in the G7 which have a AAA credit rating — Canada can borrow on the international market at some of the lowest rates that you can see,” Champagne crowed.

Canada already has sovereign wealth funds at the provincial level, with a very mixed track record.

Alberta set up its Heritage Trust in 1976, to stabilize the boom-and-bust cycles of its resource-based........

© Montreal Gazette