Mark Carney pitching answers, not slogans

Opinion

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This article was published 10/02/2025 (238 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The mug is almost perfect. Almost.

As Mark Carney appears from a closet-sized, glass-walled pod in a downtown Winnipeg workshare space, he carries a blue mug with a maple leaf on one side, and the word “Vancouver.”

“You know what?” Carney says to one of his staff members as a photographer starts to click away, “I don’t think I should have a Vancouver mug. Yeah, that’s like the classic politician mistake: ‘Hey, it’s great to be here in Vancouver…’”

The mug is quickly swapped for another, nondescript vessel with steaming tea. Finally, he is ready to explain why — just a month before his 60th birthday — he has thrown his hat in the ring to lead the deeply damaged federal Liberal party.

Carney acknowledged that during the years he served as the governor of both the Bank of Canada and Bank of England, various parties had reached out to him to see if he would run. But it wasn’t until late last year that the political stars finally aligned.

Carney said he “crossed the Rubicon” in December when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was trying to put together a team to prepare for U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term. Trudeau had even floated the idea of appointing Carney as a non-elected finance minister.

Then, after a long holiday deliberation, Trudeau stepped down. The PM’s decision — along with mounting concern about Trump — created the opportunity Carney had been looking for.

“With the prime minister’s resignation, I put my name forward.”

Less than a month later, Carney is the presumptive favourite, positioning himself as the leader purpose-built for the Trumpian threat.

Although this will rankle Tories, that’s not an entirely unfair way for Carney to describe himself.

Carney helmed the Bank of Canada through the eye of the hurricane that was the 2008 global financial crisis. Although politicos and economists still debate his specific contributions, it’s hard to dispute the fact that Canada came out of that crisis as the only G-7 country that didn’t have to bail out a chartered bank.

That performance earned Carney a term as governor of the Bank of England, where he left the frying pan that was the global financial meltdown and jumped directly into the fire that was Brexit.

The national referendum to take Great Britain out of the European Union was, in and of itself, a precedent-setting experience. So, too, was Carney’s role in the referendum campaign where he issued a landmark report that forecast a “no-deal Brexit” — a decision to leave the EU without knowing the terms — would leave the country poorer, with a smaller economy and a less valuable currency.

Carney easily dismisses those criticisms by noting that much of what the Bank of England predicted under his watch has come to pass.

As the Trump administration pursues its own Brexit-like strategies — trashing trade deals and imposing tariffs — Carney said he can see history ready to repeat itself.

“What we said was going to happen is happening right now in the United Kingdom, and so you can see the economic damage that’s going to happen in the U.S,” he said.

Carney said the most important thing Canada can do now is to have a plan to meet Trump tariffs head-on with Canadian tariffs, and then offer financial help as Canadians deal with the higher prices and job losses that could be triggered by a trade war.

“That’s where I come in, where I’m most useful. We can do a series of things that can help cushion the (tariff) shock here in Canada in the short term, which we will do lowering taxes for the middle class, for example…. But really, more importantly, build our economy much stronger for the medium term. It’s time to build … homes, building clean energy infrastructure, using all of our energy resources to maximum effect, helping to build the industries of the future now, so that we’re playing a catalytic role as the government.”

How appetizing could Carney’s “man with a plan” message be for a disillusioned Liberal party and an irritated electorate?

It’s hard to tell right now, although polls tell us Carney is the preferred candidate not only to lead the Liberals, but also the best leader to negotiate with Trump, well ahead of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

Perhaps it’s not surprising the Liberals have started to very slowly rebuild their support since Trudeau stepped down. What was a 25-point lead for the Tories, with Trudeau dithering about resignation, has shrunk in some polls to half that margin.

Looking ahead to the Liberal leadership, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Carney is the best positioned candidate to tussle with Poilievre.

Where Trudeau had been reduced to ashes by Poilievre’s relentless attacks and name-calling, Carney is a relatively new face who managed to avoid acquiring the previous leader’s stench. He’s preemptively promised to eliminate the consumer carbon tax — Poilievre’s core ballot issue — and talks regularly about containing government spending and reducing taxes.

That is simply not the kind of Liberal leader the Tories want to face.

“I think our message is being very well received,” Carney said. “Canadians are listening again to the Liberal Party and we have answers. Our opponents have slogans.”

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca