Feds must consider oil and gas conflicts for Canada Pension Plan appointees
In an op-ed published in The Hill Times, Shift’s Campaign Specialist Cheryl Randall and Senior Manager Laura McGrath write that as the federal cabinet prepares to soon appoint new Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) directors, it must prioritize candidates with proven climate expertise and no fossil fuel ties to restore credibility and protect the long-term security of Canadians’ pensions:
The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) exists to safeguard our financial future. Yet CPPIB’s leadership seems to have failed to fully grasp that its ability to fulfill its mandate depends on ensuring a stable climate. CPPIB is pursuing a dangerous strategy of deepening our exposure to oil and gas, gambling our savings on a declining industry that jeopardizes a safe future, while abandoning its own net-zero commitment.
Canadians have every right to ask how CPPIB’s governance has allowed the fund to pursue this path. New research from Shift reveals a disturbing potential conflict: three of ten CPPIB directors were simultaneously directors or executives of fossil fuel companies when the board quietly walked back its net-zero pledge in May 2025. Are these CPPIB directors serving the best long-term interests of working and retired Canadians? Or are they serving the short-term profit margins of oil and gas company shareholders?
These dual roles are fundamentally incompatible. Directors of fossil fuel companies seek to prioritize profits from expanding oil and gas, which requires delaying the energy transition. In contrast, the long-term stability of the CPP depends on minimizing systemic risks – and no risk is more far-reaching than climate change. In a warming world, the interests of fossil fuel shareholders and pension beneficiaries sharply diverge…
CPPIB’s board currently has no directors with demonstrated climate expertise. The board’s composition matrix doesn’t even identify “ESG” or “sustainability” expertise as a required competency. Meanwhile, with 30% of its current board entangled with the fossil fuel industry and no commitment to reduce financed emissions, CPPIB keeps making new fossil fuel investments – despite escalating climate damages and stranded asset risk…
Fossil fuels are fast becoming financial liabilities, exposing long-term investors to growing risks. Doubling down on a strategy that backs out of climate commitments, channels billions into oil, gas and pipelines – with the approval of a fossil-linked board – isn’t just shortsighted – it undermines CPPIB’s mandate.