The first news conference is the easiest, because armies of public servants have been working on deliverables for weeks, and because little has had time to go wrong yet. Even by that congenial standard, Mark Carney had a good morning.
He began by noting something few of us had: that there was no serious organized attempt to reject Monday’s election result. “The leader of every party quickly and graciously accepted the results. At a time when democracies around the world are under threat, Canadians can be proud that ours remains strong.”
Canadians want “big changes quickly.” He promised to work “relentlessly” to deliver. He is “committed to working with others, governing as a team in cabinet and caucus…working in real partnership with provinces, territories, and Indigenous people and bringing together labour, business, and civil society.” Everyone always promises to work with the provinces, at first. He seemed to have something specific in mind. “In the coming weeks, I will unveil more of our plans to engage with Canadians as we embark on the biggest transformation of our economy since the end of the Second World War.”
There’ll be a new cabinet in 10 days. A return to Parliament on May 27. The King will read the Throne Speech. Before any of that, Carney will meet Donald Trump in Washington next Tuesday. He’ll remove “federal barriers to internal trade” by July 1. He’ll “identify projects that are in the national interest, projects that will connect Canada, deepen our ties with the world, and grow our economy for generations.” He’ll build a lot of houses. He’ll hire more border-services agents and muster “dog teams, drones and scanners to fight the traffic in guns and drugs.” He’ll “make bail harder to get for those charged with stealing cars, home invasion, human trafficking, and smuggling.”
There was more but you get the gist. Time for questions! What’s he expecting from his Washington trip? “Quite a comprehensive set of meetings,” mostly on tariffs. Does he expect a better reception than Volodomyr Zelensky got? “Look, I go there with the expectation of constructive — difficult but constructive — discussions.”
How’s he going to make Parliament work, with less than a majority? He offered no details at first, except to point out that the Liberals won more votes on Monday than any party ever has, and that it won seats in every province and a majority of the seats in seven provinces. He said he’s already spoken to Yves-François Blanchet and Pierre Poilievre. Speaking of Poilievre, there’ll be a by-election for the currently discomfited Conservative leader “as soon as possible…. No games. Nothing. Straight.” Is the prime minister a subscriber? I don’t divulge such things.
More questions about the Trump meeting. Carney likes the names he’s heard who’ll be present. Should be a useful trip. But: “Do not expect white smoke.” It’s the beginning of a process, not the end.
More generally, Trump is a large generator of large events, but Carney insists he’s not the only game. “That point about, ‘We can give ourselves more than the Americans can take away’ is absolutely right,” he said, quoting his own opening remarks. GDP boost from getting those tariffs cancelled would be less than the pop that could come from “building one Canadian economy, building these nation-building projects, focusing on getting productivity up, reducing government waste, [and] providing investment.”
Fun bit next: “Mr. Carney, will you be pursuing a formal governing pact with the NDP?”
“No.”
“And why not?”
“Why?”
Here he stepped on his quite good Philadelphia Story repartee by adding, “That’s my response.” He recovered slightly by explaining what he means: He got good support from voters for a platform he found quite clear, so he doesn’t feel a need to concentrate on shoring up his numbers in Parliament. He’ll concentrate instead on what he promised to do.
Will François-Philippe Champagne remain as finance minister? “Did he ask you that?” That one got a laugh. Everyone will have to wait, including Frankie Bubbles.
Will he be back to take more questions? “Of course.” Next week? No answer. It was worth a try. All the grief lies ahead, along with all the glory, if any.
As a conservative who has been pretty down this week what a refreshing hopeful way to start my weekend after listening to Carneys press conference. Imagine no games, no preening, no gloating! Had forgotten what a real leader was like. i am not converted to the liberals but I have immense hope that just maybe the parties will work together for Canada. PS - I hope Carneys new caucus has some fresh faces
The opening salvo about a lack of an effort to reject Monday's results may seem rote, but should not. If in the United States, where I live, a congressional seat flipped after a postelection vote validation process conspiracy theories would dominate social and traditional media for days if not longer. In your nation, the fact that a riding went from the Grits to the PQ seemed to produce barely a shrug. I vacationed in Montreal around the election, and the seemingly greater public engagement on the streets of the city regarding the Habs game as compared to the federal election seemed odd at first but ultimately strikes me as a sign of a healthy democracy (and the proper respect for playoff hockey).