LILLEY: Carney strikes new tone and takes page from Trump​on March 14, 2025 at 10:03 pm

Mark Carney may be new to politics, but he’s learning quick including taking a page out on Donald Trump’s book on Friday afternoon. Shortly after being sworn in, Carney held a cabinet meeting and with media invited in the room, Carney held a Trump-like signing ceremony to axe the consumer carbon tax.

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Sitting at the cabinet table, Carney said the carbon tax would end immediately, while signing a document. He even used a Sharpie, just like Trump.

“Based on the discussion we’ve had, and consistent with the promise that I made and others supported, we will be eliminating the Canada Fuel Charge, the consumer fuel charge, immediately,” Carney said.

It’s a move designed to take the wind out of the Conservative’s sails, though Trump himself has been doing that with the tariff and annexation threats over the past several months. Two worrying polls were released this week for Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives, one from Leger showing the Liberals and the Conservatives tied at 37% each while another from Abacus showed the Conservatives with just a four-point lead — 38% to 34%.

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What’s worse is the new Abacus poll shows that 42% of voters believe that Carney is best positioned to handle the Trump administration compared to 28% for Poilievre.

On every other major issue — cost of living, immigration, housing, crime, the economy — Poilievre and the Conservatives are in the lead. That won’t matter much if Trump keeps up his tariff threat, his calls for the United States to take over Canada and we have a Trump election instead of what Poilievre has been looking for, a carbon tax election.

The Conservatives are in the middle of a massive ad buy trying to change the views that Canadians have about Carney. The truth is, Canadians know very little about him which allows for the Liberals to portray their new leader any way they wish, but also for the Conservatives to try and portray him as unfit for the job.

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Ads on TV, radio, billboards, online and on streaming platforms — including video games — are pointing out that Carney was behind the move of his former company, Brookfield Asset Management, moving their headquarters from Toronto to New York. Others portray him as a climate zealot with the tag line, “If Carney wins, Canada loses.”

The Conservatives have an advantage in their ability to spend vast quantities of money, far more than the Liberals can, but that advantage goes away once the election is called and all parties are subject to spending limits. The bombardment now is an attempt to reach Canadians at a time when the Conservatives are having trouble making a dent in the news cycle while Carney and Trump’s tariffs dominate coverage.

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On Sunday, Carney departs for a three-day trip to Europe meeting in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron and in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The idea, according to Liberals, is to rally allies to Canada’s cause in the fight against tariffs and annexation threats.

Asked about visiting Washington, Carney wouldn’t commit to visiting the United States and seeking an audience with Trump before an election, but did say he wants to work towards a solution to the trade war.

“I respect what he is looking to accomplish,” Carney said regarding issues like dealing with fentanyl.

“He knows and I know from long experience that we can find mutual solutions that win for both,” he said on the issue of trade.

Carney clearly tried to set a different tone on this issue that Justin Trudeau had. Where Trudeau often seemed to want to attack and irritate Trump, Carney tried to stick to a calm professional tone.

It’s going to make the coming election, likely to be called by March 23, a much different campaign than it would have been with Trudeau in charge. In a few short weeks, the Liberals have gone from being on life support to having a shot at winning the next election.

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