For all the fear over the U.S. trade war and President Donald Trump’s threats to Canadian sovereignty, this country’s biggest pension funds remain heavily invested in the U.S.

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP), the largest pension fund in the country, announced this week that it has grown to a record $780.7 billion in assets, with 47 per cent invested in the U.S., compared to only 13 per cent in Canada. 

That level of U.S. ownership hasn’t budged in the year since Trump retook office, according to third-quarter results released on Friday.

The CPP’s U.S. assets have grown steadily since 2005, when Ottawa removed a cap on foreign holdings in Canadian pensions and RRSPs.

The CPP now has $366 billion invested in the U.S., compared with $98 billion in Canada.

A CBC analysis found the CPP is not alone among the “Maple Eight,” the biggest pension funds in Canada, which collectively hold $1 trillion in U.S. assets. 

For example, 55 per cent of the portfolio held by OMERS (the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System) is American, as is 40.5 per cent held by the PSP (Public Service Pension). 

Only three of the Maple Eight have more Canadian assets than American — the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the Alberta Investment Management Corp.

When asked this week about its U.S. holdings, CPP spokesperson Michel Leduc acknowledged investors are increasingly concerned about geopolitical risks. But he emphasized that the CPP invests long-term.

“We are not easily whipsawed by current events or by any economic or even electoral cycles, even as we monitor turmoil very carefully to avoid excessive risks,” he said.

Leduc says CPP is in fact below the average for the size of its U.S. holdings when compared to leading measures of global investment diversification, such as the MSCI World Index and the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100.

“All of those global indices are 65 per cent U.S. content,” Leduc said. “So yes, I understand Canadians are wondering, ‘Why so much in the U.S.? Why not more in Canada?’… 47 per cent is actually well below [the average].”

Calls for domestic investment

Daniel Brosseau, president of Letko Brosseau Global Investment Management in Montreal, said pension funds don’t just sign people’s cheques to support them in retirement. They have many impacts on the economy.

“They are also investing in things, investing in plants, equipment and economic activity,” he said. “They can influence people’s wages in Canada, they can influence the wealth of Canadians in Canada through their investments.”

In 2024, Brosseau co-wrote a letter signed by 90 investment leaders calling on Ottawa to create new incentives for the Maple Eight to invest a greater share of their capital…

The Department of Justice on Tuesday released another batch of files related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The latest documents appear to contain court records, emails, and some heavily or completely redacted files.

In a Tuesday morning post to X, the DOJ announced the latest drop and claimed to have released “nearly 30,000 more pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.” The post also refers to claims made against President Donald Trump in the latest release.

“Some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election,” the post states. “To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already.”

Trump, who was largely absent from the DOJ’s release of files on Friday, is a former friend of Epstein’s and has long denied any wrongdoing related to the disgraced New York financier. Epstein died by suicide while in detention in 2019.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

In May 2024, the Biden administration imposed a 25 percent tariff on Chinese rare earth magnets starting in 2026, marking the first time these components had been targeted under Section 301. The move hit sintered neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets, vital for EVs and wind turbines, highlighting their strategic role in clean energy and defense.

Soon after, China’s State Council announced new rules effective October 1, 2024, tightening control over rare earth production and banning the export of extraction and magnet-making technology.

Since taking office in January of this year, US President Donald Trump has escalated the trade conflict, imposing cumulative tariffs of 54 percent on Chinese goods. Beijing responded by heightening export controls on seven strategic rare earth metals associated with global defense, renewable energy and the technology sectors.

China’s dominance remains a defining feature of the market: the country accounts for nearly 70 percent of mine output and more than 80 percent of refining capacity. That concentration has created persistent vulnerabilities, especially for medium and heavy rare earths like dysprosium and terbium, which are already in tight supply.

Analysts note that tariffs and export restrictions are setting the stage for a two-tiered market, where ex-China buyers face premiums while domestic Chinese buyers remain insulated.

Despite the volatility, demand fundamentals continue to trend upward. Permanent magnets are driving growth across EVs, clean energy and defense, and efforts to diversify supply are accelerating. In the US, Washington has increased Department of Defense (DoD) funding and streamlined permitting to support domestic production, while in Europe, a law enacted in May 2024 aims to reduce Chinese reliance by boosting output of critical minerals by 2030.

These recent escalations could be a boon to rare earth minerals and rare earth magnet stocks operating outside of China. Investors are watching closely to see which rare earth companies are best positioned to capture the opportunity.

To help paint a better picture of the REE landscape, the Investing News Network has compiled a list of the biggest rare earths stocks by market cap on US, Canadian and Australian stock exchanges. Data was collected on August 21, 2025, using TradingView’s stock screener.