Canadian public pensions and banks attempt to profit from $35 billion sunk into ICE contractors

OTTAWA | TRADITIONAL, UNCEDED TERRITORY OF THE ALGONQUIN ANISHNAABEG PEOPLE —  New data released today by Stand.earth reveals that the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP), nine other public pensions, and all major Canadian banks, as well as Desjardins, have heavily invested and financed companies that have profited from contracts enabling Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) repression and violence in the U.S. The ICE-contracted companies include Palantir, CoreCivic, Geo Group, General Dynamics, CACI, L3Harris and AT&T. The data release comes after a weekend of international protests against the Trump administration’s regressive policies.

Combined, public pensions, including CPP, have more than US$2.5 billion invested in ICE contractors. Other public pensions include: Caisse de Depot et de Placement du Quebec (CDPQ), Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), Public Sector Pension (PSP), Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO), British Columbia Investment Management (BCIM), Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), Alberta Investment Management Corp (AIMCO) and Vestcor Inc (which manages New Brunswick public pensions). Canadian and US public pension funds have more than $11.3 billion invested in the above listed ICE-contractors.

Canadian banks TD, RBC, Scotia Bank, CIBC, and BMO have financed more than $23 billion in loans and bonds to a subset of these companies since 2020. These banks, as well as Desjardins, also have extensive investments, often through their asset and wealth management divisions, in many of the named companies to the tune of at least $9.8 billion. In total, banks globally have issued more than $218 billion in financing to the above listed ICE-contractors since 2020.

“Canadians should be horrified that their hard-earned pensions and savings accounts are enabling the violation of basic human rights, repression, and murder of our U.S. neighbours. There is no excuse for investing in, or financing these reprehensible companies who are seeking to profit from violence,” said Richard Brooks, Finance Director with Stand.earth. “It is time for an investigation into how our Canadian public pensions and banks are aiding and abetting a U.S. administration hell-bent on advancing chaos and terror across the border.”

Companies were chosen based on available data and having been issued contracts since 2025 with ICE or Homeland Security. AT&T is the exception, with a multiyear contract with ICE that runs from 2021 to 2027. The companies are Palantir, a tech and surveillance company ($1.8 billion contract), private prison companies GEO Group ($800.9 million) and Core Civic ($294.8 million), weapons manufacturers General Dynamics ($17.2 million) and L3 Harris ($4.4 million) , and telecommunications and IT companies CACI ($70.1 million) and AT&T ($90.7 million issued in 2021, running until 2027).

Canadian public pensions’ and banks’ management of private and public money is increasingly under a spotlight as these financial institutions fund controversial and harmful industries. Canadian banks are amongst the largest financiers of fossil fuel expansion in the world, including financially risky LNG projects in BC and elsewhere. Canadian public pensions have been repeatedly called out for overexposure to fossil fuel companies that risk becoming stranded assets and harming their members’ long-term benefits and a climate-safe future. Notably, the CPP was sued by four young workers in 2025 in a landmark lawsuit alleging that the national pension is not properly evaluating climate risk in its portfolio.

Stand.earth notes that Break Free Suisse initiated this analysis of financial institutions enabling ICE-contractors with novel research into Swiss companies in February 2025.

Notes for editors
Data on Canadian banks and pensions and global shareholders including visualizations can be found here.

Contacts

Richard Brooks, Climate Finance Director – Stand.earth +1 416-573-7209 

richard@stand.earth (Eastern Time)

Arin de Hoog, Communications, Oil, Gas and Shipping – Stand.earth. +1 613-978-7329,

arin.dehoog@stand.earth (Eastern Time)