Within days of the Liberals election win, companies linked to Brookfield Asset Management, the former employer of Prime Minister Mark Carney, started requesting his assistance.
Two Brookfield-owned oil and gas firms were among 38 signatories of an open letter to Mark Carney on April 30, requesting accelerated resource development through eased regulations and faster approvals.
According to the Investigative Journalism Foundation, federal records show that Brandon Anderson, CEO of Brookfield-owned NorthRiver Midstream Inc., contacted the prime minister for the first time in his lobbying career.
NorthRiver later reported that its outreach was aimed at “asking the government to consider NorthRiver in their investment decisions.”
The company told reporters that the open letter was its only communication with Carney.
Before the election, Anderson’s appeal likely wouldn’t have reached Carney through Brookfield networks.
But as prime minister, Carney’s past connections with Brookfield and it’s subsidiaries raise questions.
Until January, Carney chaired Brookfield, which manages more than $1 trillion in assets, including ownership of NorthRiver through Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.
Concerns over conflicts of interest had already surfaced during the election.
In April, Conservative MP Michael Barrett filed a formal request with the Lobbying Commissioner to investigate whether Carney’s climate platform, particularly his pledge to spend $1 billion on heat pump subsidies, posed a conflict of interest.
Barrett pointed out that Brookfield-owned Enercare, which offers heat pump retrofits in Ontario, stood to benefit directly from the program.
Barrett argued that Carney’s past role at Brookfield, coupled with his refusal to disclose his financial holdings, created serious ethical concerns.
He also cited previous reports from The Telegraph that Carney had lobbied the U.K. government on heat pump policies while serving as Brookfield’s chair.
During the French leadership debate, Carney promoted Westinghouse Electric Company, an American nuclear firm co-owned by Brookfield while praising nuclear energy as a “great opportunity” for Canada.
Brookfield acquired Westinghouse under Carney’s leadership as co-chair.
As of December 31, Carney held $6.8 million in options with the firm.
Carney mentioned Westinghouse, CANDU, and Cameco as key players in Canada’s nuclear sector while also discussing the potential for small modular reactor technology, a key pursuit of Westinghouse.
Carney has repeatedly denied any conflicts of interest and said his assets are in a blind trust, but he has declined to release details until after the election.
Brookfield’s Canadian holdings include NorthRiver, Inter Pipeline Ltd., Enercare, and stakes in TC Energy, South Bow Corp., and Enbridge.