The government announced the Protect Ontario Account Investment Fund in its budget Thursday. It’s seeking a private-sector manager to run the fund, which will invest in sectors such as AI, defence, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, biotech and critical minerals. (The Logic)

Talking point: The government is seeding the fund with money from the $5-billion Protecting Ontario Account, announced in last year’s budget. The fund is meant to support Ontario’s long-term economic and strategic priorities, including reducing dependence on U.S. trade, according to the budget. It aims to attract private-sector funding, including from pension funds, to multiply its contribution. Federal and provincial governments have long been pressing Canada’s big pension funds to back more domestic ventures. Many pension leaders have recently said that they’re open to the idea if the right investment opportunities arise. The Ontario government didn’t provide details on how it plans to attract more private-sector capital beyond shouldering some of the investment risk. The provincial budget projects a deficit of $13.8 billion, a figure that has doubled since November.