The chief executive officer at the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan delivered one of the clearest signals to the Canadian market that the Maple 8 pension fund is open for business when it comes to infrastructure projects in the country.

“I think Canada needs more infrastructure projects,” said Annesley Wallace, chief executive officer at the investment organization, during a gathering for the Canadian Club Toronto last week. “There’s a real opportunity for the Canadian pension plans, including the HOOPP, to lean into those opportunities. Historically, we haven’t seen as much of those opportunities, particularly with the national level commitment, as we would have liked,”

Read: Institutional investors becoming financing cornerstone of global infrastructure projects: expert

She noted the investment organization is closely monitoring forthcoming investment opportunities, including a lineup of nation-building projects outlined by Prime Minister Mark Carney.

“My view is for sure to the extent that there are commercial models that are created around these projects and with government support, there will be lots of capital that comes to the table for investing with great success.”

Investment organizations like the HOOPP will require more clarity to navigate the investment model for these projects, she adds. The feds recently unveiled a new arm, the Major Projects Office, to fast-track projects through regulatory assessments and engage financing structures with provinces, territories, Indigenous Peoples and private investors.

Read: HOOPP appointing Annesley Wallace as president, CEO

“My hope is that the Canadian pension plans can be a source of competitive advantage for the country, . . . we have capital that we would love to invest in Canada to help that economic engine and help improve productivity going forward but also because Canada needs to be competitive in order to attract, not just Canadian pension plan capital, but global capital.”

Wallace sees the HOOPP using a total portfolio approach that prevents isolating segments, an approach that makes the plan sponsor’s investment decisions stronger and more resilient. “The world is shifting and [we] must continue to shift with it.”

Wallace was named CEO at the HOOPP in April and since then, she has learned more about the intricacies of the health-care sector. She was previously executive vice-president of strategy and corporate development and president of power and energy solutions at TC Energy Corp. and also invested in infrastructure projects at the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System.

Read: HOOPP reports 9.7% return in 2024, net assets increase to $123BN