In a significant political commentary, Conrad Black has lauded Prime Minister Mark Carney for what he describes as a masterstroke: the removal of Steven Guilbeault from the federal cabinet. Black, writing on December 6, 2025, frames this development as a pivotal moment for Canada's economic and environmental policy direction.
From Criticism to Commendation: Black's View on Carney
Black recalls his initial criticism of Prime Minister Carney's campaign style, which he saw as an overly dramatic imitation of Winston Churchill. However, his perspective shifted with the new government's policy announcements. He specifically commends the Prime Minister for promoting a dual strategy of intelligently exploiting and exporting Canada's natural resources while maintaining environmental protections.
This approach, Black argues, has facilitated a welcome rapprochement with the Government of Alberta. He sees this as restoring a path to economic growth by positively responding to global energy demand. While he dismisses investments in carbon-capture as a "sop to environmental extremists" and a waste of taxpayer money, he considers it a tolerable concession for the return of "economic sanity" to Ottawa.
The "Coup de Grâce": Guilbeault's Departure
For Black, the pinnacle of Carney's early success is the exit of Steven Guilbeault, the former Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Black characterizes this as the greatest achievement by a Canadian prime minister since Stephen Harper's 2014 speech to the Israeli Knesset. He describes Guilbeault as having "festered athwart the entire process of sensible Canadian government."
Black sharply criticizes Guilbeault's past as an activist, labeling his actions as "felonious and deranged." He highlights two infamous incidents:
- In 2001, Guilbeault scaled approximately 350 metres up the CN Tower in Toronto to unfurl a banner calling Canada and then-U.S. President George W. Bush "climate killers."
- He later led a group in orange jumpsuits onto the roof of former Alberta Premier Ralph Klein's home, allegedly to install solar panels, an act which Black says terrified Klein's wife.
According to Black, Guilbeault's ideological stance—viewing the safe export of gas and oil as a "mortifying assault" on his mission—made him incompatible with a cabinet now focused on resource development, leading to his inevitable departure.
A New Direction for Canadian Policy
Conrad Black's analysis concludes that Guilbeault's removal from cabinet signals a substantive policy shift. He interprets it as a move away from what he sees as radical environmental activism and toward a more balanced, economically-driven framework. For Black, this change is not merely symbolic but represents a fundamental realignment in how Ottawa approaches the nexus of resource development, environmental policy, and economic growth.
The commentary positions this cabinet change as a definitive step in Prime Minister Carney's early tenure, one that reconciles federal ambitions with provincial interests, particularly Alberta's, and sets a new course for the country.
