The Liberals haven’t exactly been a steady hand on the wheel, but that’s not hurting Mark Carney so far

Canada just navigated a “change election,” and Prime Minister Mark Carney is living up to the appearance / billing / expectation of being a “change” from Justin Trudeau. I know, I know, there is huge overlap in the Cabinet and Liberal caucus, and the messaging around the war in Gaza is even more disturbing, but you can’t ignore the plethora of examples where Mr. Carney has quickly dispensed with some obvious policy and messaging errors.

Both pre- and post-election.

Back in September 2010, I referred to Mr. Carney as a “perfect future political candidate” in one of a series of blog posts. Long before the Hon. Scott Brison started organizing what became a very successful, and usually subtle, campaign. I didn’t know he was a Liberal at the time (as with Mr. Brison), and I remain concerned that the new PM’s deeply-held views on climate change are incompatible with what’s good for Canadian workers and the economy as a whole (see prior representative post “Bank chiefs walk tightrope on energy evolution” June 12-24).

My early transmission to Conservative headquarters is: “Houston, we have a problem. The new guy isn’t much like the old guy.” None of this comes as a surprise, and hopefully reminds people to not underestimate how savvy this guy is (see representative prior posts “Carney strikes a populist tone part 2” Sept. 17-10 & “Carney's first week abroad a predictable success” July 9-13).

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As Canada’s Formula 1 fans gear up for next month’s Canadian Grand Prix, they know all too well the sorrow of Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari. Despite the talent and technology those teams have assembled this season, the only way they’ll catch McLaren is if Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris spend the balance of the season driving into various track walls.

Although the Liberals promised voters they’d be a steady hand on the wheel, the first few days of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government were anything but. But while cabinet members were criticized in the early laps for committing various unforced errors, the political track can be more forgiving than Montreal’s Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

Particularly when so many in the mainstream media are rooting for you.

Conservative MPs are tackling the existential question of “Where do we go from here?” and they shouldn’t rely on Carney to drive into the proverbial wall. He’s already proving to be adept at the very type of high-speed course correction that can keep an F1 driver at the front of the pack.

In the immediate wake of Carney’s election as Liberal leader, I wrote a column suggesting that he “follow in the footsteps of Jean Chrétien: ignore everything you’ve ever said previously and beat up on the sitting Republican U.S. president at every opportunity.” Mission accomplished.

As our prime minister sets out on this next phase of his career, we should all channel a quote often misattributed to Sir Winston Churchill: “I no longer listen to what people say. I just watch what they do.”

When it comes to Carney, I’m starting to think that he didn’t really mean some of the crazier stuff he said on the campaign trail — to the delight or grief of many Conservative voters.

Prior to voting day, Carney was adamant that U.S. President Donald Trump was a threat to Canada’s sovereignty and that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre would “kneel before” Trump. On April 10, Carney told a Hamilton audience that Canada would inflict “maximum pain” on America via counter-tariffs, only to secretly waive tariffs two days later on American imports used for manufacturing and processing. That was almost two weeks before election day.

Once Carney secured his electoral victory, he publicly praised Trump as a “transformational leader.” Poilievre would have been vilified for using such language.

Hit the link to read the rest of the piece.

MRM

(this post is an Opinion Piece)