Canada's pension giant seizes investment opportunity as trade tensions escalate
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) increased its public equity investments last week following a sharp global market downturn triggered by US president Donald Trump’s new tariff measures.
Speaking at a Canadian Club event in Toronto on Tuesday, OMERS CEO Blake Hutcheson stated that the pension fund acted swiftly during the market decline.
“When the market dipped, we’ve loaded up on the greatest equities,” Hutcheson said. “We were really, really active last Monday at the bottom of the market.”
Bloomberg noted that public equities comprised 20% of OMERS’ total portfolio last year, the smallest proportion in its history. Hutcheson said the fund had deliberately reduced its equity exposure in anticipation of market volatility.
Hutcheson also expressed criticism of Trump’s approach to Canada. “Tariffs are going to hit us – that’s all fair game,” he said. “I am mad at the insults. I am mad about the 51st state. I am mad about the indignities toward those that don’t deserve it in our nation.”
Impact of Trump’s tariffs
In response to escalating trade tensions, the Canadian government announced a $155 billion tariff package on US imports in February, targeting a range of goods including steel, aluminium, vehicles, and agricultural products. Finance minister Dominic LeBlanc emphasized that these measures aim to protect Canadian interests and workers.
Reuters reported that the World Trade Organization (WTO) revised its 2025 global merchandise trade forecast from a 3.0% increase to a 0.2% decline, citing the resurgence of US tariffs and broader economic spillovers as key factors. The WTO warned that a full decoupling between the US and China could shrink global GDP by 7% in the long term.
“We see in our malls, we started to see in our hotels,” Hutcheson said, acknowledging the broader economic impact of the trade war on consumer spending.
As trade tensions rise, Canadian consumers have been reducing purchases of American products and limiting travel to the United States, according to Reuters. The Canadian government has also implemented selective relief from counter-tariffs on US imports, particularly benefiting domestically based automakers and manufacturers in specific sectors.
Despite looming market volatility, Hutcheson expressed confidence in the resilience of OMERS’ $138.2 billion portfolio, noting that only two of the 30 large infrastructure companies it owns are directly affected by the cross-border levies.
