Mark Carney’s first week as prime minister saw him taking trips to Europe and within Canada, cancel some unpopular Liberal policies, and make a series of policy announcements. Now it’s expected that he will call an election in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives have been adapting their messaging for the new Liberal leader, saying he’s copying some of their policies, and that his government is the same as the Trudeau government. They’re also raising conflict-of-interest and hidden agenda issues in relation to Carney, while advocating for their own vision of a prosperous Canada.
Carney’s First Week
Shortly after being sworn in on March 14 with a reduced cabinet—24 instead of Justin Trudeau’s 37—Carney’s first act as prime minister was to sign an order to bring the rate of the consumer carbon tax to zero, which he previously said had become too “divisive.” Polls have shown that Canadians had become increasingly opposed to the Liberal government’s carbon tax legislation, which the feds fought to keep in the courts as some provinces launched legal challenges. A week later, on March 21, Carney said he'll scrap the Liberal government’s plan to hike the inclusion rate on capital gains tax.
Also on his first day in office, Carney asked Defence Minister Blair to revisit Canada’s deal to purchase F-35 fighter jets from U.S.-based Lockheed Martin. During his Liberal leadership race campaign, Carney used strong words against the Trump administration, saying the confrontation with the United States is “the greatest crisis of our lifetime.” He has tempered his language somewhat since becoming prime minister, saying more recently that he understands that Trump cares about American jobs and that Canada wants to work with him on mutual objectives.
But it was notable that he made his first international trip as prime minister to Europe, and is yet to talk to the U.S. president.
Carney visited France and the UK earlier this week, meeting with the country’s leaders as well as King Charles III. He said he currently has no plans to visit the United States, and would speak with Trump “at the appropriate moment.” When in France on March 17, Carney said Canada is the “most European of non-European countries.”
In a meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, he discussed transatlantic security, artificial intelligence, and trade relations.
While in London, Carney had a testy confrontation with reporters when asked about his assets. He has said he put his assets in a blind trust and is in compliance with the ethics regulations. When pressed on the issue by a reporter, who suggested that he could have a conflict of interest and that Canadians need to know what companies he has investments in, Carney told the reporter that her question comes from a place of “ill will” and that she should “look inside yourself.” On March 18, Carney visited Nunavut, where he said Ottawa would expand military presence in the Arctic and use Australia’s over-the-horizon radar technology under a $6 billion deal to surveil threats from countries like China and Russia. Carney
travelled to Edmonton on March 20, where he said his government would eliminate the GST for first-time homebuyers on new homes under $1 million, while the Conservatives said that that was a policy they had previously announced.
While in Alberta, Carney met with Premier Danielle Smith, who
told him that “Albertans will no longer tolerate the way we’ve been treated by the federal Liberals over the past 10 years,” and emphasized the need to not impede oil and gas development. Carney said in response that he would “broaden programs that work for Albertans.”
However, he rejected Alberta’s request to remove emissions caps for the oil and gas sector.
On March 21, Carney said he would remove all federal provisions that factor into interprovincial trade barriers by Canada Day. He also announced a relief package for workers and businesses impacted by the tariffs, and said he'll work with the premiers to develop a national trade and energy corridor.
“It’s high time we built things we’ve never imagined, at a speed we’ve never seen,” Carney said. Referring to his meeting with premiers that day to discuss removing interprovincial trade barriers, he said, “The agreement is to turn what has been a concept into a reality that will diversify and strengthen our economy.”
Conservatives’ Response
The Conservatives have been criticizing Carney over the fact that Brookfield Asset Management moved its headquarters from Canada to the United States while he was still chair of the company. They have also criticized him for not publicly releasing his assets, saying he could be subject to conflict-of-interest. “The Canadian people deserve to know exactly what Mark Carney is conflicted on and he needs to immediately disclose what assets he placed into a blind trust,” the party said.
Carney says he has put all his assets in a blind trust, and that he is in compliance with all requirements of the ethics commissioner.
On March 17, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said his party would go further than Carney in removing the consumer carbon tax by also removing the pricing from the industry. Prior to that, their key message on the topic was that Carney will bring the carbon tax back if he wins the next federal election. “Conservatives will axe the Liberal carbon tax on Canadian industries like steel, aluminum, and energy,” Poilievre said on March 17. “Bring jobs and production home, and take back control of our economy.”
The Conservatives also noted that it was Poilievre who first visited Nunavut in February to talk about the importance of Arctic security, and criticized the Carney government for not announcing any new funding allocation for NORAD modernization projects. Poilievre also said it was his party who first proposed removing the GST on new homes.
“Only months ago, Liberals voted unanimously against my idea of taking the GST off new homes. Now—a few days before calling an election — they plagiarize me again,” Poilievre
said on March 20.
The Conservative leader said his vision includes removing the Impact Assessment Act, which imposes federally required environmental assessments on major infrastructure projects.
Alberta has blamed the act for effectively killing pipeline projects due to the regulatory overburden. Poilievre said scrapping it would allow for the building of pipelines, LNG plants, and mines. Carney has defended the act, saying it has provisions to expedite projects as needed. Another key message of the Conservatives has been Canada’s declining per capita gross domestic product growth over the past 10 years while the country was governed by Liberals. World Economic Outlook data shows Canada’s GDP at 0.5 percent, compared to peer countries such as the United States at 20.7 percent and Australia at 8.1 percent. On March 19, Poilievre
said that, as prime minister, he would speed up permits to for mining developments in Northern Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” region, which is rich in critical minerals.
A day
later, in an effort to expedite the development of key infrastructure and industries, he said he would establish certain zones featuring pre-approved permits for major construction and energy projects.
On March 21, Poilievre said he would boost training opportunities and provide grants to help workers in the skilled trades.
Election Campaign
Ahead of the expected election call, polls show that the Liberals have closed the previous two-digit gap with the Conservatives, with some polls even showing them ahead of the Conservatives.Kevin Gaudet, a consultant in government and public affairs, said the Liberals are currently enjoying a “honeymoon” period with their new leader, which is to be expected.
“There’s never been an example of a leader who doesn’t get that, so why would this be different?” Gaudet said in an interview, adding that Trudeau’s departure has also contributed to the boost in the polls for the Liberals.
Gaudet said the Conservatives are on the right track with their campaigning, and will try to show that their policies will be better for Canada. He added that the Tories will likely use their ads to “brand” Carney, and that the Liberals are trying to minimize Carney’s media exposure to ensure he doesn’t make mistakes.
Chris Collins, a principal with the Aurora Strategy group and a former speaker of the New Brunswick legislative assembly, however, said he found the Conservatives’ strategy to be weak, and that Carney is well positioned for the election.
“They’ve had it too easy for years, and now they’re absolutely shell-shocked by what’s going on,” Collins said in an interview, adding that by focusing their campaign on Trudeau and the carbon tax, the Conservatives have cornered themselves.
But he said it’s important for an election to be called soon for Canada to have a prime minister with a strong mandate to deal with the U.S. tariffs.
“What’s in the best interest of our country right now is for the prime minister to have a strong mandate to represent Canadians in this trade war,” Collins said.
