Caisse achieved a 4.6% return during the initial half of the year
Article Title: Tariffs and Trade Policies Impact Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec's Investments
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), one of Canada's leading institutional investors, is navigating a more challenging global economic and investment landscape due to the impact of American tariff policies in 2025.
The tariff escalation robustly affected global trade, elevating costs for goods, especially in sectors like electronics, textiles, automotive, and food products. This has led to a slowdown in global economic growth, with expectations of recovery only starting in 2026 if trade uncertainty diminishes.
For the CDPQ, the increased global tariff barriers and resulting trade uncertainty introduce several challenges in their infrastructure and real estate investments. Global supply chain disruptions and higher costs for construction materials and equipment due to tariffs can raise capital expenditure requirements and delay projects. Infrastructure investments tied to trade-dependent sectors or global logistics networks may face revenue or operational risks from slower trade volumes and economic growth uncertainty.
Commercial real estate markets may encounter volatility or slower demand in export-reliant regions or sectors tied to manufacturing and logistics. Rising costs and slower economic growth could moderate rental growth or property appreciation in the near term.
While CDPQ’s specific portfolio performance data for 2025 is not publicly detailed, the described macroeconomic context implies increased risk and potentially moderated returns for its infrastructure and real estate assets exposed to international trade and economic cycles.
The CEO of CDPQ, Charles Emond, warned that the coming months are expected to be uncertain due to tariffs, and clarity on tariffs and the full effect of these measures will be discussed in the second semester.
In other news, the CDPQ's real estate investments recorded a modest increase of only 0.1%, a rate below their reference index of 1.2%. Meanwhile, the portfolio associated with the stock market recorded a return of 6%, slightly above its reference index of 5.5%. The private placements and fixed income portfolios recorded gains of 3.4% and 3.9%, respectively, both above their reference indices of 2% and 3%.
The net assets of the institution had risen to nearly $500 billion as of June 30, 2025. The "Drunken Boat", an iconic ship of L'Isle-aux-Grues, is currently for sale. No new information about La Caisse's returns, net assets, or portfolios was provided in this paragraph.
In a separate development, the CEO of La Caisse, Charles Emond, noted that the almost uninterrupted rally in an unstable geopolitical context increases the risk of disappointment for investors in the coming months. The CEO predicts that the end of the year could be disappointing on the stock market. No new information about tariffs or their impact was provided in this paragraph.
Lastly, a major project to reduce GHGs in cattle farming has started, involving fifty farms. The details of the project and its potential impact on CDPQ's investments were not disclosed.
[1] Global Trade Alert. (2025). Tariffs, Trade, and the World Economy. Retrieved from https://www.globaltradealert.org/reports/tariffs-trade-and-the-world-economy/ [2] International Monetary Fund. (2025). World Economic Outlook Update. Retrieved from https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2025/04/22/World-Economic-Outlook-Update-April-2025 [3] Peterson Institute for International Economics. (2025). The Impact of Tariffs on the U.S. Economy. Retrieved from https://www.piie.com/blogs/trade-investment-policy-watch/tariffs-us-economy [4] World Bank. (2025). The Economic Impact of Tariffs. Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/trade/brief/the-economic-impact-of-tariffs
- The increased tariff barriers and trade uncertainty, as a result of American tariff policies, raised concerns for the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) regarding their investing in infrastructure and finance, particularly projects with ties to international trade and economic cycles.
- In light of the global tariff escalation and its effects on supply chains and trade-dependent sectors, the CEO of CDPQ, Charles Emond, emphasized the importance of monitoring finance activities that are closely connected to global trade, as the coming months may present further challenges.
