Prime Minister Mark Carney’s sovereign wealth fund is a great idea on many levels but one. It does not disguise the reality that his government has no ambitious plan to generate the stream of public and private investment needed for Canada to compete globally. The new wealth fund is a good start, but it’s a bauble.

Sovereign wealth funds are nothing new. Some 50 countries have them and they play a big role in boosting national prosperity, meeting pension liabilities, building infrastructure, diversifying economies, creating a financial cushion for future…