Since Mark Carney became our Prime Minister in March of this year, the political landscape in Canada has shifted dramatically. In just months, he has moved the Liberal Party of Canada from a Trudeau administration that was almost to the left of the NDP to a centrist government more reminiscent of Progressive Conservatives.
Carney has successfully filled a void left by the Conservative Party of Canada as they have, in recent years, moved further to the right on the political spectrum.
Yes, there are still some of the Liberal old guards in this government, but with a new sheriff in town, their mandate has changed significantly.
Andrew Phillips, a national columnist, wrote recently. “Given Mark Carney’s record so far, it is no surprise that people in parts of the country that lean heavily Conservative are getting behind him.”
David McLaughlin, once Chief of Staff to Brian Mulroney, wrote in the Winnipeg Free Press, “Canada elected its first progressive conservative prime minister in over 30 years in the person of Mark Carney.”
He went on to say, “From cancelling the consumer carbon tax, to pledging to build pipelines and offering a middle-class tax cut, Carney is actively placing conservative along with progressive in his party’s governing policies.”
I do believe that Mark Carney has managed to attract many centrist Conservatives (often called Red Tories) to his new government. Andrew Phillips questioned whether this was a brilliant strategy by the Liberal Party or devious opportunism, implementing “whatever works” and damn the ideology. Which of these is most accurate remains to be seen.
Generally, Conservatives believe in smaller government and less dependence on the government. They dislike a lot of red tape and believe that, in most instances, policies and procedures that make it easier for individuals to succeed are an effective way to spur the economy. Centrist Tories also tend to shy away from my way or the highway politics. Mark Carney, at least so far, has emulated these principles, allowing a progressive conservative label to hang around his neck.
A very visible sign that this has been effective for Carney is that Conservatives in the House of Commons supported the Liberals’ massive and game-changing legislation with Bill C-5. They really had no choice because that legislation contained many of the principles and policies that the Conservative Party had campaigned on and stood for.
Bill C-5 removes federal and interprovincial trade barriers. It fast-tracks major nation-building infrastructure projects by cutting down the approval process from five to two years. It cuts through all sorts of red tape and reduces the amount of government interference.
Importantly, the legislation positions the government as a facilitator rather than an implementer. That task is left mainly to the private sector. The purpose of the legislation is to enable and not block economic and private sector initiatives that will help Canada stand on its own two feet with much less dependence on the United States
There are those in all political parties, including the Liberal Party, who believe that the push in the C-5 legislation to fast-track major development projects is a mistake. Under normal circumstances that might be true. But these are not normal circumstances.
The measures in the Liberals’ Bill C-5 legislation were a key component of the political race that the Liberals won on April 28th. It was a mandate to “super-charge” Canada’s economy in the face of a destructive and punitive trade war being waged by the Trump Administration in the United States. Consequently, there is an urgency here now that needs to be addressed.
In relation to these issues, Mark Carney put it succinctly when he said it was no longer about why, but rather now the emphasis was on how.
In less than two months, Mark Carney has met directly at least twice with provincial and territorial premiers in Canada. He has avoided confrontation and fostered a cooperative approach to national issues in a manner not achieved by his predecessor, Justin Trudeau.
It is interesting to note that at least three Conservative premiers, including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, have strengthened their support for a Team Canada approach, led by Mark Carney, as it relates to this country’s economy, its challenges from the United States, and its sovereignty.
In his relatively short time in office, Mark Carney had to deal with a myriad of issues, not the least of which was the G7 Summit meeting, which he hosted in Alberta last week. Critics have said he did not accomplish enough, but again, I beg to differ.
Those who thought that Carney could come away with an agreement from a brief meeting with Donald Trump regarding trade and tariffs were fooling themselves. There was not a realistic opportunity for that.
However, by the time he and Donald Trump met alone for 70 minutes at the G7 Summit, there were some important signals.
Unlike Justin Trudeau, Donald Trump has shown respect for Mark Carney and a willingness to negotiate with him. Those who believe that Carney should have jumped all over the U.S. President, should ask themselves how well that worked out when Justin Trudeau was Prime Minister.
Mark Carney has managed to get an agreement from Trump for a 30-day timeline related to an acceptable trade agreement. His tone has not been confrontational, but he has been clear about the steps Canada will take if an agreement is not reached by that date.
Carney has also demonstrated, not only in his G7 deliberations, but also in his trade negotiations with other nations including the European Union, that Canada is winning back respect and support on the international stage.
At least to date, Mark Carney exhibits a calm approach to leadership. He talks to you and not at you. He has avoided personal attacks and managed to lower the temperature when dealing with a number of critical issues.
Phillips also commented, “Yes indeed, our new conservative government is a Liberal government, though a liberal government of a very different stripe.”
Federal Conservatives must be very concerned about that, especially as they see their polling numbers drop significantly as centrist Conservatives feel more comfortable with Mark Carney than with Pierre Poilievre.
Getting them back will be a hard hill to climb as long as Mark Carney is Prime Minister, because many people, while still believing in Conservative principles, feel more at home with him.
That will be a tough nut to crack.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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I do agree that Carney seems to be winning over a lot of people with his smooth talking and professional image. Some of his policies are also designed to steal Poilievre’s thunder. However, I believe it’s still too early to see what his true agenda is, or whether he can restore trust in government. He is a globalist, and his agenda aligns with that of the WEF, not surprising given his history with that group. That doesn’t bode well for Canadians, IMO. And, just like his predecessor, he seems to think he doesn’t need to be accountable for his actions. He’s still giving billions to Zelensky, with no strings attached. That should have stopped long ago. As long as we do this, Zelensky has no incentive to work for peace. And, Carney is looking seriously at upping our contribution to NATO to 5% of GDP – which will make the gift to Ukraine look like pocket change. All of this without a budget, and therefore without accountability. Any fool can make promises and spend money with no accountability. But he also needs to tell Canadians where this money is coming from because any money he gives back to us through tax cuts and removing trade barriers will pale in comparison to what he is giving away to non-Canadian causes. At the end of the day, he’s spending our money, we have unprecedented debt and a lot of Canadians are struggling. As smooth tongued as Carney is, we would do well to remember that all that glitters is not gold.