Poilievre, Singh call on Carney to publicly disclose assets

Article content

OTTAWA — Opposition parties are not letting the story of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s alleged conflicts of interest fade away.

On Thursday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called on Carney to do the “right thing” and disclose all his financial holdings so that Canadians “can judge the conflicts he faces” for themselves.

“He knows what he owns and there is nothing in the law that prevents him from publishing that information for all eyes to see if he has nothing to hide,” Poilievre said in Jonquière, Que.

Article content

“We need a leader that is busy putting Canada first, not keeping an eye on investments that go against Canadian interests,” he added.

In Hamilton, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh echoed Poilievre’s call for more accountability.

“Every other candidate for prime minister has to disclose very clearly their assets,” Singh said. “It is an understandable thing for Canadians to make a decision about who they want to govern the country to know: Do they have any conflict of interests? What are they?

“The fact that he’s unwilling to do that shows a fear of accountability, and I want Canadians to pay attention to that.”

The National Post has asked Carney’s office to address the Opposition’s statements and is awaiting a response.

Carney admitted this week, after repeated questions from the media, that he expects to recuse himself from potential conflicts of interest related to his past work as chairman at Brookfield Asset Management, which describes itself on its website as “a leading global investment firm with over $1 trillion of assets under management.”

However, Carney said the process to determine what ethical “screens” he would be subject to is still in discussions with the office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.

Article content

Article content

The process can take months, so Canadians could likely be heading to the polls in just a few weeks not knowing if Carney is subject to any conflicts of interest.

“He admitted the other day, in a stunning flip flop, that he has conflicts of interests that he will have to manage. But he won’t tell us what those conflicts are,” said Poilievre.

“He expects us to elect him without knowing the many millions of dollars of conflicts that will make it impossible for him to do his job.”

Carney has said he went beyond what the Conflict of Interest Act demands, given that he put his assets in a blind trust as soon as he was elected Liberal leader.

The law — which Poilievre helped adopt when he was in Stephen Harper’s government — requires that public office holders divest their assets or put them in a blind trust within 120 days.

The ethics commissioner is expected to publish a public summary of Carney’s personal and financial information in that same timeframe, but it could be available sooner.

Article content

Poilievre is effectively asking Carney to go above and beyond what the law requires, given the unusual and quick succession of events that led to him becoming prime minister.

When Carney was asked this week why he is not disclosing his assets proactively, he responded that it is a question that is for the ethics commissioner.

Questions have been swirling on Bay Street about Carney’s financial assets and his recent links to Brookfield. Until this past January, Carney was still serving as the company’s chair and head of transition investing. He stepped down to run for Liberal leader.

As a Brookfield employee, according to the corporation’s annual report, he was entitled to stock options with a market value of more than $6.8 million as of Dec. 31, 2024.

But most of his compensation, observers said, is likely stemming from the money he is entitled to as co-manager of three of Brookfield’s biggest funds.

Conservatives have remarked Carney could find himself in conflicts of interest for clean energy transition projects, for which he raised billions of dollars across the world.

Article content

Brookfield and Carney’s team have so far declined to say if he has put Brookfield assets in his blind trust, but recent comments suggest that is the case.

Speaking in Iqaluit on Tuesday, Carney said in French “it’s clear” he expects an ethics screen to apply to him if a government decision “has a major impact for Brookfield.”

Carney’s finance minister declined to comment on whether Carney should publicly disclose his financial assets to reassure Canadians.

“I think he answered that question,” said François-Philippe Champagne.

Poilievre, meanwhile, was questioned on his party’s controversial decision to not have media outlets travelling with him in the upcoming election, which is expected to be called Sunday.

“Local media will have the ability to ask questions. It will be refreshing to hear from local outlets and what they have to say about their local priorities,” he said.

Singh said the other leaders have shown they cannot take the heat from the media.

“Well, it’s no surprise to me that Pierre Poilievre is afraid of some questions.”

“I’m sorry to say I think Mark Carney is showing that as well.”

Article content

National Post, With files from Antoine Trépanier
calevesque@postmedia.com

Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what’s really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here.

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here.

Article content