Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday, accusing him of a hypocritical about-face on environmental policies that Poilievre says Carney himself helped design during nearly a decade as a key advisor to former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Poilievre questions Carney's sincerity
Speaking in his home riding of Battle River-Crowfoot in Camrose, Alberta, Poilievre dismissed Carney's recent shift in tone on climate initiatives, saying the prime minister's claims of having changed his mind do not align with his past actions. “He claims that he’s changed his mind, that he was wrong all along,” Poilievre said. “If that’s the case, why hasn’t he eliminated bill C-69, the anti-development law? Why hasn’t he eliminated the ban on shipping oil off the north west coast of British Columbia, and why is he going ahead with a 500% increase in the industrial carbon tax — a tax that will not only drive up the cost of food and homes, but will drive billions of dollars south of the border, where they pay no carbon tax.”
Carney's environmental record under scrutiny
Poilievre pointed to Carney's tenure as head of the United Nations agency focused on shutting down oil and gas, as well as his leadership of a banking alliance aimed at defunding the fossil fuel sector. He also noted that Carney had advised Trudeau to make the carbon tax “bigger and broader.” The Opposition leader highlighted Carney's opposition to the now-cancelled Northern Gateway pipeline project, calling it further evidence of the prime minister's longstanding anti-development stance.
Poilievre's remarks came ahead of a late Thursday press conference where Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith were expected to announce a new pipeline project. Poilievre praised Smith for her efforts in standing up to Ottawa, saying, “She’s been up against a lot — the Liberal party, at the instigation of their then-economic advisor Mark Carney, waged all-out war on our oil and gas sector for over 10 years.”
Contradictions in Carney's approach
Earlier Thursday, Carney met with Filipino President Bongbong Marcos in Vancouver and held a joint press conference with British Columbia Premier David Eby, where he vowed to uphold the oil tanker ban off BC's north coast. This pledge is a key component of a multi-billion dollar memorandum of understanding (MOU) between BC and Ottawa on future resource projects. However, maintaining the tanker ban complicates Carney's MOU with Alberta, signed last November, which aims to boost oil, gas, and electricity production while lowering emissions.
Poilievre argued that the only way forward is for Ottawa to remove barriers to development. “Get the government out of the way and allow the shipping of oil off the north west coast of BC,” he said. The exchange underscores the ongoing tension between federal environmental commitments and provincial resource development ambitions.
