Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), trading as La Caisse, is a global institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans in Québec. Established in 1965 by the Québec National Assembly, it operates with full legal, financial, and operational independence from the government. As at June 30, 2026, La Caisse had net assets of C$552 billion invested across 48 depositors that include Québec public and parapublic entities, with its eight largest depositors — including the Québec Pension Plan — required by law to have their funds managed by CDPQ.
Website: lacaisse.com
Founder: Established by the Québec National Assembly
Company type: Crown corporation; legally, financially, and operationally independent from the Québec government
Regions served: Global; offices in Montréal, Québec City, Toronto, New York City, London, Singapore, Mexico City, New Delhi, Paris, São Paulo, and Sydney
What does CDPQ offer?
CDPQ carries a dual mandate: to optimise long-term returns on depositors' funds while contributing to Québec's economic development. Its investment programme is internally managed across six asset classes, with the following approximate allocations as at December 31, 2025:
- equity markets — C$151 billion in public company shareholdings globally
- private equity — C$85 billion in direct company investments and external fund commitments
- infrastructure — C$75 billion in ports, airports, highways, energy transmission and distribution networks, and wind and solar farms
- real estate — C$43 billion through subsidiary Ivanhoé Cambridge, spanning office, retail, residential, and logistics properties
- fixed income and credit — C$176 billion in government bonds, corporate and real estate credit, and infrastructure financing, through subsidiary Otéra Capital
- funds and external management, complementing internal strategies with specialist managers where appropriate
CDPQ became a founding signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment in 2006 and in 2017 published a pioneering climate change strategy — one of the first major institutional investors to measure its carbon footprint across asset classes and to set portfolio-wide reduction targets.
CDPQ in the market
CDPQ is the second-largest pension fund manager in Canada and one of the most active large institutional investors in global private markets. Its dual mandate — combining financial return with Québec economic development — distinguishes it from purely return-maximising funds and gives it a strategic role in the provincial economy that extends well beyond passive capital allocation. Its infrastructure arm has financed major transportation projects in Québec, and its private equity activities include substantial direct stakes in Québec-headquartered businesses.
Among CDPQ's eight statutory depositors — organisations required by law to deposit with La Caisse — are the Québec Pension Plan and several major public sector plans covering hundreds of thousands of Québec workers. The concentration of its depositor base in the provincial public sector gives CDPQ a social mandate that shapes its long-term investment philosophy as much as its financial objectives.
CDPQ's large-scale direct investment capabilities place it alongside CPP Investments and Ontario Teachers' as one of Canada's leading practitioners of the Canadian model of pension fund management: originating, structuring, and managing complex transactions without relying on fund intermediaries. La Caisse was among the first institutional investors globally to publish a proxy voting policy (1994) and the first to measure and disclose its carbon footprint across asset classes, maintaining a reputation for governance and sustainability leadership that informs its relationships with co-investors, portfolio companies, and regulators worldwide.
Scroll down for CDPQ's latest deals, partnerships, and industry headlines.
