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The Alberta government has hired former prime minister Stephen Harper as the new chairman of the board of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) less than two weeks after it sacked all 10 prior board members.
Harper’s hiring was announced via a news release on Wednesday morning.
In a statement, Harper said he was not being paid for his role, describing it as a “meaningful act of public service to my adopted home province of the last 46 years.”
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“Over several decades, Canadian pensions have earned a global reputation thanks to professional operations, upstanding ethics and prudent risk management. I have accepted the role of board chair because I want to see AIMCO further embody these values and to positively contribute to this culture.”
Harper was born in Ontario but is a longtime Calgary area resident. He served as Canada’s 22nd prime minister between 2006 and 2015.
Premier Danielle Smith cited her government’s goal of building the Heritage Savings Trust Fund to more than $250 billion in the next 25 years while announcing Harper’s hiring.
“His appointment … (is) a strong step forward in giving all Albertans confidence in the long-term sustainability and success of AIMCo.”
The government cited his “experience, knowledge and perspective” in selecting Harper for the role.
AIMCo manages $160 billion in pension and endowment investments.
The Financial Post reported last week that the former prime minister was among those being considered to chair the board and that AIMCo had previously attempted to set up a meeting between Harper and now-former CEO Evan Siddall though the two never met.
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Siddall was suddenly removed of his duties by Finance Minister Nate Horner while at an offsite gathering of AIMCo staff at the Westin Hotel in Edmonton.
That came after Horner had sacked all 10 members of the board earlier in the day and installed himself as chair, thereby giving himself the authority to also terminate Siddall.
Horner cited low investment returns and rising operating costs, management fees, and staffing when announcing the firings on Nov. 7.
Three of the prior board members were also reappointed to their jobs on Wednesday: Navjett Singh Dhillon, Jason Montemurro, and James Keohane.
The deputy minister of treasury board and finance will now also be a permanent AIMCo board member with the government citing the need “to ensure more consistent communications” between the investment agency and the provincial government.
That appointment also ends Horner’s time as interim board chair.
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