During his inaugural Question Period, Prime Minister Mark Carney faced scrutiny regarding tariff exemptions and the Liberal government’s decision to delay the budget.
Carney was first asked to answer for his decision to quietly lift the majority of U.S. tariffs during the election without it becoming public knowledge until the following month.
“During the election campaign it was ‘elbows up,’ then secretly, he dropped those tariffs to effectively zero,” said Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer. “But he didn’t stop there, he told Canadians that the government would collect $20 billion dollars in revenue and use it to cost his platform.”
“Now that those tariffs are going to bring in zero dollars, two quick questions – why wasn’t he honest with Canadians during the election and how is going to make up the shortfall? Is he going to borrow it, print it or tax it?”
The carve-outs made by Carney on April 16 cancel out nearly all of the retaliatory tariffs that both he and former prime minister Justin Trudeau had introduced in response to the Trump administration.
Carney responded by saying that his government’s tariffs “have maximum impact on the United States” while having “minimum impact on Canada.”
“We are dedicating all the revenue from those tariffs to supporting the workers and businesses affected by the unjustified American actions.”
Scheer quipped that Carney quickly picked up “old Liberal habits of not being able to answer questions.”
He went on to say that Canadians have been inundated with “grand rhetoric and pretty speeches” from Carney and his cabinet since the election yet continue to “suffer” under the same policies implemented by former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
“Household debt? Up at record levels. Number of people who can’t pay their mortgages? Increasing. Food bank usage? Continuing to rise,” said Scheer. “Now TD Bank is forecasting a recession with hundreds of thousands of lost jobs. The PM said undoing the damage of the last 10 years would require ‘great speed’ but he’s not going to table a budget for another six months.”
Scheer then asked Carney why his government isn’t able to table a budget before Parliament closes for its summer break, which only resumed on Monday after being shut down for months.
The prime minister responded by saying that his plan included “legislating for one Canadian economy” that would include “nation-building projects” that would have an immediate impact on growing the economy.
“And we expect the support from all in this House,” said Carney.
Scheer claimed that the Liberals’ decision to push tabling the budget into the fall was evidence that they are “really afraid to come clean with Canadians” about their spending.
“With the throne speech yesterday, the Liberals have effectively admitted that it was their policies that caused the suffering for Canadians,” he said. “The reckless borrowing and massive deficits caused the inflation. The carbon tax drove up prices and drove away investment and their anti-development bills chased jobs out of Canada.”
Scheer demanded that if Carney was serious about proving to Canadians that his government was in fact a change from that of Trudeau’s, he would repeal Bill C-69, also known as the ‘No More Pipelines’ bill.
“Canada’s new government is acting immediately to grow this economy,” answered Carney.
“I just made my maiden speech in this House – Canada’s new government is acting immediately to grow this economy. One Canadian economy out of 13. Nation-building projects. One project office. Working with the provinces to cooperate. We expect the support from the members opposite.”