CPP Investments manages approximately $114 billion in assets across Canada. Its holdings span hundreds of companies in sectors including technology, financial services, natural resources, renewables, and infrastructure. This article is the latest in Mapping Canadian Capital, a new series from the CPP Investments Insights Institute. Each installment spotlights an investment from CPP Investments’ Canadian portfolio, offering insight into how a major global capital allocator approaches long-term partnership, value creation, and the complexities of investing in an evolving economic landscape.
Today, Wolf Midstream is a leading player in Alberta’s energy economy. With assets spanning oil pipelines, natural gas liquid recovery systems, and carbon capture, utilization and storage systems (CCUS), Wolf builds, owns and operates some of the most critical energy infrastructure in Canada.
But ten years ago, it was still just an idea inspired by a notable absence in the market.
At the time, the “midstream” sector—the space between energy production (upstream) and end users (downstream)—was dominated by large publicly-traded incumbents and a handful of short-term private equity firms. The market had few players with the patient capital needed to support innovative, large-scale energy infrastructure solutions that can take years to conceive, develop and build.
Wolf’s founders and CPP Investments set out to introduce something novel: a wholly owned, flexible capital platform with the discipline of a global investor and the agility of a focused, experienced originator and developer.
“We needed a long-term capital solution to meaningfully wedge our way into the established energy infrastructure market,” said Bob Lock, President and Chief Executive Officer at Wolf Midstream. “Most private equity funds in the space had a single asset, three- to five-year exit philosophy, but CPP Investments wasn’t interested in a quick flip. They wanted the opportunity to invest in the creation of a meaningful, credible company with a long-term horizon.”
“That long view was absolutely unique at the time.”
The founders named their new company “Wolf”, a tribute to the prospector Henry Fuller Davis, or “Twelve-Foot Davis”, who re-staked a narrow 12-foot strip of land that had been overclaimed during the Cariboo Gold Rush. Later nicknamed “the Wolf” for his resilience and character, Davis succeeded not by chance, but through vision, perseverance, and fair dealing. Wolf’s founders saw the same qualities as essential to building a durable energy platform that spotted opportunity ahead of others and pursued it with discipline and long-term conviction.
The founders’ original vision for Wolf has become reality. Headquartered in Calgary, the company plays a central role in getting Canada’s energy to new and evolving markets, while facilitating industrial decarbonization and supporting regional development and Indigenous partnerships.
In less than 10 years, Wolf has expanded to own and operate nearly $4.5 billion in total assets, becoming an important pillar in CPP Investments’ real assets portfolio. It’s also built a consistent track record of steady returns that contributes to the sustainability of the Canada Pension Plan funds.
“Our energy strategy is grounded in backing companies that are positioned for long-term success, prepared to act nimbly, and lead in a changing global energy market,” said Bill Rogers, Managing Director, Head of Sustainable Energies, Real Assets at CPP Investments. “Wolf fits squarely with this. It combines the discipline and track record of a proven operator in traditional energy with the foresight and flexibility to seize opportunities in the evolving energy transition. That combination positions it to navigate and thrive in the energy landscape of the future.”
Building a scaled platform
Formed in 2015, Wolf quickly became a vehicle for large-scale energy investment. Driven by cross-Fund collaboration, its launch represented one of CPP Investments’ first platform investments: a majority-owned company intentionally structured with the flexibility to efficiently scale over time through accretive growth projects.
The Fund’s initial major equity investment of $825 million was made in 2016—in conjunction with Wolf’s first significant purchase, the acquisition of a 50% interest in the Access Pipeline System. This critical piece of energy infrastructure links oilsands producers to upgrading and refining facilities in the Edmonton area.
Two years later, Wolf acquired the remaining 50% of the Access Pipeline, becoming the sole owner and operator of the system. The combined transaction, together with CPP Investments’ backing, established Wolf’s presence as an operating entity with a substantial franchise footprint in Alberta’s industrial heartland.
“Access was an existing asset with a high functioning operating team that held the highest of standards,” said Lock. “Their safety record was impeccable, their maintenance and operating performance were exceptional. So, now we had this incredible operating team of size and scale running a huge pipeline system. It gave us instant market credibility and the cash flow needed to keep building.”
This emphasis on safety, reliability and operational excellence remains central to Wolf’s culture, and is carried forward today by its 225 employees.
Wolf soon expanded into new verticals, completing construction of the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line (ACTL). A CO₂ transportation system, it currently carries 1.6 million tonnes per year of CO₂ from the NWR Sturgeon Refinery and Nutrien Redwater Fertilizer facilities to be stored and utilized in Alberta. The asset, which established Wolf as the largest independent CO₂ infrastructure operator in North America, has helped facilitate the capture of more than 6 million tonnes of emissions since 2020.
Next up, it launched the NGL North System, a proprietary development that recovers, transports, and separates 70,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids into higher value markets, and reduces downstream oilsands. Built partly with assets from the Access Pipeline system, NGL North created more than 750 jobs during construction and included over $80 million in Indigenous procurement.
In 2023, Wolf announced its decision to extend ACTL through the core of Alberta’s industrial heartland and into the Edmonton Region. The expansion is designed to support facilities in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
Wolf’s NGL and carbon business lines also directly support Dow’s Path2Zero project in Fort Saskatchewan—one of the largest announced foreign direct investments in Canada—by enabling reliable feedstock supply and carbon transportation.
A decade of expansion and impact
In just 10 years, Wolf has grown from a small founder team of six into an integrated, multi-asset platform with operations that span key energy corridors in Alberta—and serve both conventional hydrocarbons and emerging low-carbon solutions.
And there’s more to come. In 2024, Wolf announced the $1-billion expansion of its NGL North System, expected to be in service in 2027. The ultimate capacity of this proprietary system is nearly 170,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids, one of the largest in Canada.
Wolf has stood as a committed partner in the communities where it operates, developing strong relationships and innovative partnerships. In 2023, it sold a 43% interest in the Access NGL Pipeline System to the Northern Lakeland Indigenous Alliance (NLIA), a group of five Alberta-based First Nations and Métis Settlements. The transaction marked one of the largest Indigenous equity partnerships in the province’s energy sector, providing participating communities with both a long-term revenue stream and a direct stake in critical energy infrastructure.
“Wolf Midstream shows how our capital can deliver on multiple fronts, building critical energy infrastructure and creating lasting economic partnerships with Indigenous communities,” said Rogers. “It’s a clear example of the kind of long-term value CPP Investments strives to achieve.”
The next chapter
Today, Wolf’s management team continues to scale the platform and expand its role in Canada’s energy economy. With growth opportunities already identified, the enterprise has the potential to double in size, according to Lock.
“We’ve assembled an incredibly inspiring team and culture… the right people with the vision, creativity and energy to take us into the future,” said Lock. “There’s no other company like us in Alberta, and we’re just getting started.”
Why CPP Investments backed Wolf Midstream
- Strategic Fit: Wolf provided a platform to deploy long-term capital at scale in critical energy infrastructure.
- Market Opportunity: Few players were positioned to build large-scale, future-focused assets. With backing, Wolf could move quickly to seize that opportunity.
- Experienced Leadership: A proven management team of Canadian energy veterans brought deep technical expertise, operational know-how, execution capabilities and strong industry relationships.
- Alignment: Both partners shared a focus on generating strong risk-adjusted returns through the creation of a nimble and trusted midstream operator.
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CPP Investments manages approximately $114 billion in assets across Canada. Its holdings in hundreds of companies span sectors such as
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