Court documents show that CPPIB is trying to throw out a climate lawsuit launched by young Canadians – by denying that it has a fiduciary duty to its contributors and beneficiaries.
Toronto, ON | Traditional territories of the Wendat, Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewas, and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation
In an attempt to prevent a lawsuit alleging mismanagement of climate risks from proceeding to trial, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments, or CPPIB) is claiming that it does not owe a fiduciary duty to the young Canadian applicants – or to any Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributors and beneficiaries.
According to court documents submitted to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, CPPIB filed a motion to strike the climate lawsuit launched by young CPP contributors. In these documents, CPPIB makes the untenable claim that it does not have a fiduciary relationship with CPP contributors and beneficiaries.
“The no-fiduciary-duty claim being made by CPPIB in its motion to strike this climate lawsuit is extraordinary,” says Cynthia Williams, Roscoe C. O’Byrne Chair in Law at Indiana University, trustee with the Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative, and Professor Emeritus and former Osler Chair in Business Law at Osgoode Hall Law School. “The claim appears to contradict decades of pensions law and undermine the purpose of CPPIB as set out in legislation. It’s concerning to see CPPIB going to these lengths to avoid accountability, when there’s an urgent need for CPPIB to develop a credible strategy that protects the best interests of CPP contributors and beneficiaries amidst a worsening climate crisis.”
A judge of the Commercial List of the Ontario Superior Court will hear CPPIB’s motion to strike the climate lawsuit on November 12-13, 2026 in Toronto. See this media backgrounder for an overview of the legal requirement for pension managers to consider climate risks as part of their fiduciary duty, as well as an extensive list of examples of CPPIB executives and government officials publicly confirming CPPIB’s fiduciary duty to contributors and beneficiaries.
CPPIB being sued by young Canadians over alleged climate risk mismanagement
In October 2025, four young Canadians launched a lawsuit against CPPIB, alleging that Canada’s national pension fund manager is failing to adequately identify, assess and manage climate-related financial risks while continuing to invest billions of dollars in the primary cause of the climate crisis – oil, gas and coal expansion. Represented by lawyers from Ecojustice and Goldblatt Partners LLP, Aliya Hirji, Travis Olson, Rav Singh and Chloe Tse allege that CPPIB is breaching its legal duties by subjecting pension contributions to undue risk of loss from poorly managed climate risk. The applicants are not seeking money. They are asking the court to order declaratory relief to recognize CPPIB’s legal duty to act in the best interests of pension contributors and future retirees by credibly addressing climate-related financial risks.
Shift is not party to the lawsuit, but has reviewed the documents CPPIB submitted to the court.
CPPIB manages and invests the money that working Canadians (outside of Quebec) contribute to the CPP. Managing nearly $864 billion on behalf of over 22 million Canadians, CPPIB is one of the largest pension managers in the world.
CPPIB has no disclosed climate action plan, no net-zero emissions commitment, no targets to reduce portfolio emissions, weak evidence of effective climate engagement with investee companies, no goals to invest more in profitable climate solutions, and no exclusions on investment in oil, gas and coal. In 2025 alone, CPPIB made at least $6 billion in risky new bets on fossil fuel assets that will prolong the use of oil and gas and make the climate crisis worse. Just last week, CPPIB announced it’s part of a Blackstone-led consortium investing $4.3 billion in LNG Canada and financing its expansion. The investment faces significant transition risks and would double the LNG facility’s production, leading to an estimated 75 million tonnes per year of greenhouse gas emissions.
CPPIB is trying to dismiss the climate lawsuit by denying it has a fiduciary duty to its contributors and beneficiaries
In arguments submitted to the court in support of its motion to strike the lawsuit in July 2026 to dismiss the young Canadians’ application before it can proceed to trial, CPPIB’s lawyers say that it has “no fiduciary relationship to the Applicants” (p.2), that “no fiduciary relationship can be established between CPPIB and the Applicants or CPP participants generally” (p.8), and that “a fiduciary undertaking cannot exit (sic) between CPPIB and the public at large” (p.21).
This claim is made despite fiduciary obligation language being used in the founding legislation of CPPIB (section 5) and confirmed regularly by CPPIB and government officials in annual reports, speeches, interviews, public meetings, parliamentary appearances, and other public comments. See this media backgrounder for an extensive list of examples.
As recently as October 2026, CPPIB’s Chief Public Affairs Officer told Canadians at a public meeting in Winnipeg: “Absolutely, the CPP Investments has a fiduciary responsibility to manage the fund in the best interests of contributors and beneficiaries. It’s very, very clear in the CPPIB Act” (audio recording, at 17:05).
Fiduciaries must protect the long-term interests of contributors and beneficiaries
Pension fund managers must prudently invest to secure retirement income for contributors and beneficiaries. In fulfilling this role, they are bound by a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of all contributors and beneficiaries. Fiduciary duty requires pension managers to consider the factors that could materially affect the long-term security of the fund and retirement benefits. This includes identifying, assessing and working to manage all financial risks that may materialize over decades, not only risks that are immediately reflected in asset prices or short-term returns.
Climate change creates existential, material financial risks for long-term institutional investors. For pension funds, with obligations extending across generations, these risks include physical, transition and systemic risks. Credible risk management requires clear science-aligned objectives and investment strategy – along with clear transparency for how high-risk investments can credibly align with a safe climate – for which CPPIB has none that are publicly disclosed.
“The argument being made by CPPIB and its lawyers in their misguided attempt to throw out this groundbreaking climate case is frankly shocking,” says Adam Scott, Executive Director of Shift. “Rather than trying to prove that it’s responsibly managing material climate-related financial risks, CPPIB is denying that it has any duty to anyone. CPPIB’s argument appears to defy the legislation under which the CPPIB was created, decades of judicial and academic pronouncements, and public statements by countless CPPIB executives.”
For more information see this backgrounder.
Additional Background Information:
Canada’s largest pension investment manager sued over alleged climate risk mismanagement
Frequently asked questions about the climate litigation against CPPIB
Notice of Application launching climate lawsuit against CPPIB
CPPIB’s factum in support of its motion to strike the application
Aliya, Rav, Travis and Chloe’s factum responding to CPPIB’s motion to strike
Contact information for interview requests:
Adam Scott, Executive Director, Shift
adamscott@shiftaction.ca
416-347-3858
Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health is a charitable initiative that works to protect pensions and the climate by bringing together beneficiaries and their pension funds to engage on the climate crisis. Shift is a project on MakeWay's shared platform, which provides operational supports, governance, and charitable expertise for changemakers.