Stephen Harper appointed chairman of Alberta Investment Management Corporation

Former prime minister Stephen Harper has been appointed chairman of the board of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), the provincial government said Wednesday.

The Alberta government installed Harper, Canada's 22nd prime minister, as board chair for a three-year term, nearly two weeks after firing all of the provincial investment manager's previous 10 board members, its CEO and three other executives.

The government said at the time the drastic move was a necessary "reset" of the organization.

"Albertans should be grateful and thankful that he would consider doing this," Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner told reporters in the legislature on Wednesday.

AIMCo manages more than $160 billion in funds, including pension funds and the Heritage Savings Trust Fund. The bulk of the money under AIMCo's control belongs to several public sector pension plans that hold the retirement savings of around 500,000 Albertans.

WATCH | Former prime minister Stephen Harper appointed AIMCo chairman: 

Stephen Harper now board chair for AIMCo

7 days ago

Duration 2:02

Former prime minister Stephen Harper has been appointed to chair the board of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation. CBC's Sam Samson explains how he got the job, and why some critics say he's not the right person for the job.

Premier Danielle Smith has said she wants to transform the Heritage fund into a sovereign wealth fund, and build the $25-billion nest egg into a $250-billion behemoth by 2050.

Harper's appointment prompted critics to question whether investment decisions will be driven by politics, rather than maximizing returns and minimizing risk.

Horner, who temporarily replaced the board chair on Nov. 7, has now stepped out of that role and appointed Alberta's deputy minister of finance a permanent role on the AIMCo board.

Cabinet also brought back three board members who were let go in the Nov. 7 purge: Jason Montemurro, Navjeet Singh Dhillon and James Keohane.

Harper will help guide the asset manager to improve investment returns while keeping overhead costs under control, and develop good relationships with the public sector pension plans AIMCo manages, Horner said.

Harper approached Horner about six months ago, expressing interest in the role, the minister said. Horner previously said he had been worried for some time about AIMCo, as its operating costs rose and returns fell short of benchmarks.

Harper's appointment has nothing to do with the government's musings about pulling out of the Canada Pension Plan to create an Alberta pension plan, Horner said.

In a government news release, Harper said he would do the board work for free, as a "meaningful act of public service" to the province.

"I also feel uniquely positioned to help the organization improve its governance," Harper said .

Critics question Harper's fund-management expertise

Harper was a Conservative prime minister from 2006 to 2015, after leading a united coalition of former Reform Party and Progressive Conservatives members to electoral victory.

Post-politics, he founded Harper and Associates, a consulting firm, and served on the boards of property management, investment and technology companies.

CBC News sent emails Wednesday to Harper and Associates, requesting an interview with the former prime minister. No responses have been received.

Horner said Harper will abide by conflict of interest law and AIMCo's code of conduct, but did not specify how that would affect his other affairs.

Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said Wednesday that fund management experience is a specialized skill set, which Harper may lack.

"A board needs to have people who really understand the industry and you need to be able to hire people who can do the job well," said Nenshi, a former business professor.

Nenshi worries the government will direct AIMCo to make investments that meet its political goals, such as bolstering Alberta's oil and gas industry, he said.

Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, echoed that concern, saying money in the pension funds belongs to workers and retirees.

"We don't think that any board should be playing politics with the retirement savings of so many Albertans," McGowan told CBC News. "It's not their money and it should not be turned into a political slush fund."

In 2019, the UCP government removed the ability for large public sector pension funds to fire AIMCo as the investment manager, and forced the Alberta Teachers' Retirement Fund to transfer investment control of its assets to AIMCo.

McGowan wants those decisions reversed, he said, adding that unions should be given a seat on the AIMCo board, given how many of their members' pensions are affected by the corporation's activities.

Horner said Wednesday he won't grant either of those requests.

Sebastien Betemeier, an associate professor of finance at McGill University who researches pensions, was reassured to see the government return three AIMCo board members to their roles, as it helps retain institutional memory, he said on CBC Radio's Alberta At Noon.

But he also questioned whether Harper, a partisan figure, is a political appointee acting on behalf of the government, or an independent chair whose sole focus is AIMCo's mission.

In a statement, Alberta Teachers' Association president Jason Schilling said the appointments of Harper and the deputy minister of finance raise questions about the AIMCo board's autonomy. AIMCo manages investment of the pensions of 85,000 current and former teachers.

"These recent decisions are understandably frustrating teachers, who see their pensions being politicized once again by the UCP government," Schilling's statement said.