Conservatives say ‘clear’ that Mark Carney is vying for Trudeau’s job

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OTTAWA — Conservatives are hoping to grill former central banker Mark Carney during a House of Commons committee meeting on the carbon tax and affordability, arguing that he may be a future contender for leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Even though Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has repeatedly said he is staying on as leader of his party, the ongoing speculation about Carney’s political prospects has intensified since he delivered a speech Monday evening during which he criticized the federal budget.

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In a press release, the Conservative party said its MPs will be moving a motion Tuesday to invite Carney to appear at the House of Commons committee on finance.

“It’s clear that Carney is positioning for Trudeau’s job and since he’s attempting to get as much media attention as possible, he should welcome the Conservative invitation to appear at committee,” reads the unsigned release sent Friday morning.

In an email, Carney said that he has not yet received the invitation from the committee but that “releasing it first to journalists betrays the performative nature of the request.”

He added that he had already accepted a prior invitation to appear at the Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy, on May 8, which he said “will focus on Canada’s opportunities to build clean growth and new jobs.”

“I’m not interested in playing games on such important issues for Canada’s economic future,” he wrote in the email. “Canadians rightly expect our elected parliamentarians to produce solutions to Canada’s challenges, rather than performing political stunts or mindlessly repeating simplistic slogans.”

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Carney delivered a speech this week as part of an event held in Toronto by Canada 2020, a progressive think tank with close ties to the Liberal party and of which he is an advisory board chair.

He made some subtle digs at the spending under the current Liberal government, saying that governments that “spend too much and invest too little will eventually pay a heavy price” while countries that “welcome and celebrate risk takers will thrive.”

The federal budget, which forecasts a deficit of nearly $40 billion this year, has been under fire for its increase in the capital gains taxation, which will affect individuals who make large profits by selling a second property, or corporations selling any of their assets.

Business groups have argued that the tax hike will stifle innovation and drive away entrepreneurship in Canada.

Carney insisted that the new economic era Canada finds itself in will “demand fiscal discipline and a relentless focus on delivery, rather than reflex spending that only treats the symptom but doesn’t cure the disease.”

But his most pointed attacks were directed at Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, whom he accused of using current anxieties “as an opportunity to stoke anger.”

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“After all, people don’t demolish things when they’re positive or optimistic. I know this from my time in the U.K. where for years the rallying cry of Brexiters was ‘broken Britain’ and their solution to ‘take back control’ was actually code for tear down your future,” he said.

“When politicians claim our great democracies are broken, it’s not because they want to fix them. It’s because they want a licence to demolish.”

Carney, whom Poilievre nicknamed “Carbon Tax Carney,” also took aim at the Conservative leader’s fierce opposition to the carbon tax.

“Remember that when he shouts, ‘Axe the tax,’ he’s really whispering, ‘Can the plan,’ and leaving us with nothing. Demolition is not a plan. And slogans, denials, and defeatism won’t make our businesses more competitive, and they won’t grow jobs at home.”

In their press release Friday, Conservatives make it clear that they intend to draw parallels between Trudeau and Carney should he come to the finance committee.

“Canadians deserve to know how much Carney will increase Trudeau’s carbon tax, how much more debt he will add, and whether he would destroy Canada’s energy sector,” reads the release.

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They also accused him of endorsing the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund — dubbed the “photo-op fund” — which they claim “gives billions of taxpayer dollars to the same gatekeepers who created the housing crisis in the first place.”

“It doesn’t matter whether Mark Carney or Justin Trudeau is in charge of this Liberal Government. They will continue to make life more unaffordable for Canadians with their inflationary taxes and spending,” reads the release.

It remains to be seen whether or not the Conservatives will be able to table their motion to invite Carney to the finance committee Tuesday, as members will be starting the clause-by-clause consideration of C-59, the bill to implement the fall economic statement.

And on Thursday, the finance committee is expected to hear from Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem and his senior deputy, Carolyn Rogers.

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