‘You, sir, are not a change’: Party leaders target Carney in final election debate
By Canadian Press on April 17, 2025.
MONTREAL — Liberal Leader Mark Carney spent his first English election debate presenting himself as a safe pair of hands for a Canada in crisis — while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre sought to frame him as more of the same after a decade of Liberal government.
Carney, who is leading in the polls, became the main target of all his rivals’ attacks early in Thursday’s final debate of the election — a trend that carried over from Wednesday’s French language debate.
Poilievre repeatedly sought to draw a straight line from former prime minister Justin Trudeau and his policies to Carney, arguing he contributed to the “lost Liberal decade” by providing confidential advice to Trudeau on the economy.
“We need a change, and you, sir, are not a change,” Poilievre said in one exchange.
At another point, Poilievre called on Carney to look into the camera and apologize to people who suffered from the “inflationary policies” that he purportedly advised Trudeau to implement.
Carney contended more than once that while Poilievre might wish he was running against Trudeau, the two leaders are fundamentally very different people.
“You spent years running against Justin Trudeau and the carbon tax,” Carney said. “They’re both gone, OK?”
Carney said he didn’t provide any of the advice that Poilievre accused him of giving to Trudeau, asked to be judged on his actions and pivoted to talk up his resume.
“Twice, I was a central bank governor, and in both cases … when I was responsible for inflation, inflation was less than two per cent,” he said. “When I was here, responsible for the Bank of Canada, inflation was less than two per cent, our dollar was at parity. That is the kind of success that I can deliver for this country coming on this crisis.”
Poilievre asked Canadians to ask themselves if they’ve come out ahead over the past ten years and whether they believe Carney will govern any differently.
“Are you prepared to elect the same Liberal MPs, the same Liberal ministers, the same Liberal staffers all over again for a fourth term? Mr. Carney, Justin Trudeau’s staffers are actually here with you at this debate in Montreal, writing the talking points that you are regurgitating into the microphone,” Poilievre added.
“Look, I do my own talking points, thank you very much,” Carney shot back.
The Liberal leader insisted throughout the debate that the biggest threat to affordability and the economy is the “Trump crisis.”
“We’ve got to get that right,” he said.
Early in the evening, Carney said the bilateral relationship with the U.S. has “fundamentally changed” because Trump is looking to restructure the global trading system.
“The starting point has to be one of strength. It has to show that we have control of our own economic destiny, has to have a clear plan here at home to build this economy, to diversify our trading partners with like-minded countries, and also has to have a position of strength in terms of our reaction to the U.S. unjustified tariffs,” Carney said.
But Poilievre claimed the Liberal government is hostile toward Canada’s energy sector and pipelines. He accused the Liberals of weakening the economy and vowed that a Conservative government would repeal “anti-energy laws, red tape and high taxes.”
He attacked Carney for not repealing Bill C-69, which overhauled how major national infrastructure projects are reviewed for environmental impacts.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh accused Carney of failing to defend Canadian jobs threatened by U.S. tariffs since becoming prime minister and said the Liberal government is pro-pipeline because it purchased the Trans Mountain pipeline.
“I don’t know what Pierre is complaining about,” Singh said.
Singh spent a good amount of his time and energy attacking the Conservative leader, frequently talking over Poilievre.
Conservative candidates also quickly pounced on social media when Carney appeared to confuse Keystone with the TMX pipeline purchase during the debate.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said that while Carney claims to be different from Trudeau, he should prove that he’s better than him by disclosing his financial assets — an issue that has dogged Carney throughout the campaign.
“You have to prove something, and you have to reveal what you own in those companies if you want people to believe you,” Blanchet said.
Carney has refused to disclose his financial assets, leading opposition parties to accuse him of being in a potential conflict of interest through holdings from his former firm Brookfield Asset Management.
Carney has said he’s put his assets in a blind trust and is following all the ethics rules for public office holders, but has refused to say anything about what his assets were before they went into the trust.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2025.
— Written by Kyle Duggan in Ottawa and Morgan Lowrie in Montreal
Canadian Press Staff, The Canadian Press
-31
Geez. No wonder the dippers have switched to liberal. Singh was nothing but a barking liberal lapdog. They go where ever they think the power will take them.
Obviously he is not a change, but Trudeau 2.0 with the same team! He has been caught in speaking out of both sides of his mouth many times, telling Quebec one thing and the West another.
The Brits were definitely not impressed with his Bank of England governing and have openly spoke out regarding the poor job he did! Zero trust in this person!