A tiny fraction of the Conservative leader's ETF holdings are being unfairly equated with Carney's relationship to Brookfield

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

Last week, the Liberal line of defence of Mark Carney’s high-finance Brookfield background came out through the media: Pierre Poilievre is just as bad.

It’s a light years-long stretch, the logic being this: Carney, former chair of Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) and vice-chair of Brookfield Corporation (BN), stands to benefit from Brookfield’s success — but so does Poilievre, because he keeps some of his investments in an exchange-traded fund named Vanguard FTSE Canada Index ETF (VCE), which is invested in many Canadian companies, a small fraction of which includes BN and BAM.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Don't have an account? Create Account

The underlying message of media, largely the left-wing sort, has been to frame Poilievre as a hypocrite for criticizing various Brookfield decisions on the campaign trail. That was the tone of CBC’s Wednesday report and Friday broadcast on the matter. In the same vein was the headline of a Friday bit of election coverage from the Star, “Pierre Poilievre holds investments in Brookfield — the same company he attacks Mark Carney over.”

Anyone with basic investing knowledge will see right through these ridiculous imputations. “All-in-one” asset allocation exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, with broad market exposure are considered the conventional vehicle for one’s long-term investments. They’re the basis of the DIY Canadian Couch Potato