As the debate continues over whether Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is still a climate maniac, has sold out to the oil companies, or is just a hustler, the Canadian government has begun handing out massive subsidies to Canadians to buy heat pumps, quite unsuited to our harsh winters (like the EVs the government long subsidized). So a nice break for heat pump makers. And wouldn’t you know it, Brookfield Inc., which Carney chaired before parachuting in as Canada’s Prime Minister and still has substantial holdings in, has been acquiring considerable holdings in… gosh… heat pump makers. And gosh again: as if owning Brookfield is not enough, Carney also holds shares directly in heat pump makers. It’s not a conspiracy; it’s hidden in plain sight. But it’s weird that he gets to do it.

On the question of whether he’s sincere about doing good and just happens to be doing well, Gina Pappano of InvestNow writes in C2C Journal that Mark Carney always was and still is an international man of greenery and never mind the expensive suits that, along with his bankerly resumé, do tend to distract people:

“Carney’s pro-growth moves – like approving new LNG export facilities – generate constant newspaper headlines and news reports. Meanwhile, however, his bureaucrats are quietly preparing to strangle the very economic revival Carney claims to desire, as revealed in a publicly disclosed but little-discussed new policy, inspired in part by Communist China and known as the ‘green taxonomy’.”

And she warns that “Canada can either open itself for business, or it can commit to a net-zero future. It can’t do both.” Though we add that it can do neither, remaining closed for business while missing net-zero by a mile.

We also add snidely that given Carney’s actual track record, from inflation in the UK when he governed the Bank of England to his vaunted GFANZ folding like a cheap lawn chair, having it all fall to bits would also be very much in keeping with his resumé. But one thing Carney’s very good at is walking away with his pockets full of cash. So maybe he’s doing well by doing harm. It wouldn’t be the first time. It also wouldn’t be a plot, partly because it’s all so visible.

For instance, Carney of course has still shares in Brookfield. And it is by no means impossible that the firm would welcome him back if he tired of his jaunt into politics or Canadians tired of him and his blarney (for instance when the Palestinian non-state he recognized cancelled elections he said they were committed to, he told journalists “We are certainly holding [the Palestinian Authority] to account”, a revolting mix of empty words and untruth). But in any case he also has shares in such firms directly. And speaking of plots, or lack of same, in comic Canadian political “what conflict of interest?” fashion, all his holdings were put in a “blind trust” but he could see them before they went in and as they did so and there was no instruction to the trustees to liquidate them and buy he knew not what, so he knows exactly what’s in there. A Conservative MP asked “How is that not corrupt?” and the answer was stony silence and mocking smiles, meaning this is Canada and these are Liberals.

It is also a government classic, and typical of Canada though by no means unique to it, that the heat pump announcement prompted an immediate declaration from, gosh, the government-funded Canadian Climate Institute that “New federal support for home retrofits will give modest boost to affordability and electrification, but more action needed” And the Canadian government is definitely continuing down the green garden path more broadly, or the false trail in the deep dark woods, boosted by independent propaganda from independent entities it pays for. Including subsidized media outlets writing things like: “Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Canadians will be able to get rebates up to $10,000 for installing heat pumps, but experts called the $2-billion program simply a good start and not a comprehensive plan to lower emissions from homes across this country.”

Thus Carney supposedly represents a breath of fresh practical banking air after the daffy Justin Trudeau. But this “landmark“ heat-pump thing basically revives a Trudeau initiative while labeling it bold and new. And moreover, “Canada successfully prices seventh green bond issuance, raising $2 billion”. And to hear them tell it, nothing could go wrong and never should be heard a discouraging word:

“This week, the Government of Canada successfully priced its seventh issuance of Canadian-dollar-denominated green bonds, raising $2 billion in a new 10-year offering. This issuance saw robust demand from investors, with environmentally and socially responsible investors representing a significant share of buyers (44 per cent). The final order book stood at over $3.6 billion. Government of Canada green bond issuances support the growth of Canada’s sustainable finance market by providing a sovereign benchmark for other issuers and high-quality green investment opportunities backed by Canada’s AAA credit rating. Green bonds unlock private capital to speed up projects such as green infrastructure and nature conservation. These investments support economic growth, create jobs, and help build a cleaner and more resilient Canadian economy.”

But who are these “environmentally and socially responsible investors” or ESRIs? Not by any chance Canadian public-sector pension funds and heavily federally regulated industries?

Besides, what are these “green bond” things? Well, see:

“Canada’s Green Bond Program allows investors to support Canadian investments in climate action and environmental protection, while fostering further development of the Canadian sustainable finance market.”

Allows? They’re already allowed. Why can’t investors simply support Canadian investments, say by investing in them? Well, actually what happens is that various government departments classify some of their spending, aka “investment”, as green through, we are not making it up, a Yes-Minister-style interdepartmental committee, specifically the “Interdepartmental Green Bonds Committee (IGBC)… co-chaired by Finance Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada, includes representatives from 12 federal departments and Crown corporations.” This nest of red tape then looks at some of the money the government was going to borrow anyway and relabels it green.

The sorts of things involved are “Development and pre-licensing of Terrestrial Energy’s Integral Molten Salt Reactor”, the “Parkland EV Charging Network”, and “6,778 green bond-eligible medium and heavy-duty ZEVs incentivized” by Transport Canada, plus electric school busses. So not really investments of the sort you could sell to investors by there being a positive return on the money. The kind you get when Mark Carney relabels all spending “investment” and then claims to be spending less and investing more because shut up.

His government has of course leaped into committee, or perhaps central committee:

“In November 2025, the Government announced its intention to explore the development of a Sustainable Bond Framework that would allow for the issuance of both green and new transition bonds to be aligned with the arm’s length, made-in-Canada sustainable investment guidelines (also known as a taxonomy) and to expand the Framework to incorporate economic sectors as the taxonomy is being developed. The Canadian Climate Institute, alongside Business Future Pathways, are leading this work, with the expectation that investment guidelines will be finalized for three priority sectors by the end of 2026.”

This taxonomy being a blueprint, or greenprint or even redprint, for centrally planning the Canadian economy according to the dreams of zealots not the desires of consumers.

As for “fostering further development of the Canadian sustainable finance market” we always thought “sustainable” in finance meant “pays for itself” and “isn’t dependent on never-ending subsidies” but hey what do we know.

Of course the Canadian government and its provincial counterparts entertain no doubts about their own economic as well as environmental genius:

“The federal government is making it easier for low- to median-income households in Newfoundland and Labrador to make their homes more energy efficient, more comfortable, and more affordable all while reducing emissions.”

Such nice people. And so smart:

“The federal government is investing $10.5 million, and the province’s electrical utilities – Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and Newfoundland Power – are contributing an additional $3.15 million. This funding will help more than 1,400 homeowners and renters access upgrades such as heat pumps and insulation improvements.”

It’s investing because the federal government never spends anymore. But the actual rate of return to it on these investments is not something to inquire into. The rate of return to the makers of heat pumps, and to shareholders in those firms, is another story. Or lack of story, in the subsidized Canadian media.