An article on proposed changes to preferred pharmacy networks outlined in the Ontario government’s fall economic statement was the most-read story on BenefitsCanada.com this past week. Here are the top five human resources, benefits, pension and investment stories of the last week: 1. Ontario taking steps to end preferred pharmacy networks, introducing VPLA framework 2. […]
The average Canadian defined benefit pension plan returned 4.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, up from 1.6 per cent in the second quarter, according to a new report by the Royal Bank of Canada Investor Services. This growth was driven by a broad-based mix of equity and fixed income contributions, the report […]
The federal government’s latest budget brought along several announcements relevant to the institutional investor community of Canada — including a fund-of-funds initiative, clean electricity tax credits, funding options for airport assets — but an update on the real return bond program was nowhere to be found. “I read the debt management report and definitely noticed […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board are supporting an investment deal in which alternative asset manager Apollo will invest $6.5 billion for a 50 per cent stake in an offshore wind project. The transaction for Ørsted’s Hornsea 3 — a U.K.-based ongoing clean energy project — […]
The funded status of a typical defined benefit pension plan in Canada increased on both a solvency basis and on an accounting basis in September, according to a new report by Telus Health. The solvency index for plans grew to 107.4 per cent, compared to 105.8 per cent at the end of August, while the […]
Canada’s federal government is raising funds to support green infrastructure and nature conservation projects through its fifth issuance of green bonds. The 30-year green bonds are designed to attract private financing and play a role in the country’s strategy to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The investment asset is backed by Canada’s AAA credit rating. […]
The infrastructure arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System has confirmed the completed inaugural senior unsecured bond issuance for the BPC Generation Infrastructure Trust totalling $1.5 billion across five-, seven-, and 10-year tranches of notes. The transaction involving the trust, which is a holding company for the OMERS investment in Bruce Power, is one […]
The funded status of a typical defined benefit pension plan in Canada increased on both a solvency basis and on an accounting basis in August, according to a new report by Telus Health. The solvency index for plans grew to 105.8 per cent, compared to 104.3 per cent at the end of July, while the […]
The median solvency ratio of Canadian defined benefit pension plans reached 129 per cent at the end of the third quarter 2025, up from 126 per cent, according to a new report by Mercer. The increase was attributed to positive returns on equities and fixed income, despite increased liabilities. Read: FSRA finds Ontario DB plans’ […]
A desire to diversify a heavy public equities portfolio led Montreal’s municipal pension plan sponsor to look more closely at alternative assets. Before the global financial crisis, more than 60 per cent of the City of Montreal’s portfolio was in public equities, said Errico Cocchi, its head of pension investments, during a session at the […]