When we were founded by the Governor General, he felt that it would be important to have a funding mechanism that would be there in perpetuity and not necessarily at the whim of either the economy or the government in power at the time. He was wise enough to partner with the prime minister at the time and the provinces to establish an endowment fund. Our funding comes from a portion of the interest earned from that endowment every year.
On September 22nd, 2016. See this statement in context.