Ottawa issues $5 billion in green bonds for the first time ever

FILE - Centre Block's Peace Tower is shown through the gates of Parliament Hill on Tuesday, April 21, 2015. Justin Tang / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Ottawa has completed its first ever offering of green bonds that will be used to help pay for its investments in green infrastructure and other projects that will help fight climate change.

The federal government says it issued $5 billion in 7.5-year green bonds.

Ottawa had promised it would issue the bonds in its budget last year.

The demand for green investment opportunities has been growing in recent years as investment funds increasingly incorporate environmental, social and governance factors when deciding where to put their money.

The government says 72 per cent of the buyers of its bonds were environmentally and socially responsible investors.

The final order book for the bond offering was over $11 billion.

"The strong demand for this inaugural green bond issuance -- the first of many issuances to come -- is a sign of Canada's future as a sustainable finance leader," Finance Minster Chrystia Freeland said in a statement.

"As we continue our government's record investments in climate action, leveraging private investment will help us meet Canada's 2030 emissions reduction target and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2022.