Mark Carney went on late-night television in the U.S. Monday to talk Trump, tariffs and carbon tax, but played coy on any plans to seek the Liberal leadership.
The former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor appeared on “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart for a 20-minute sit-down interview.
On the issue of president-elect Donald Trump’s suggestion that Canada become the 51st state, Carney and Stewart joked about the two countries being a dating couple that had hit a rough patch.
Carney said statehood is not going to happen but the U.S. and Canada can be “friends with benefits,” generating a roar of laughter from the crowd.
On Trump’s threat of tariffs, Carney said Canada needs to prepare for a trade dispute like it did the last time Trump was in office.
When asked about the carbon tax, Carney noted that much of Canada’s emissions come from the oil industry and that needs to be cleaned up rather than trying to change the way everyday Canadians live in a short period of time.
Opposition Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has already been trying to paint the former top banker as a key architect of the Liberal carbon policy, calling him carbon tax Carney.
“For Canada, what we need to do is make sure that we’re addressing these issues, doing our bit,” said Carney.
“But we need to do it in a way that Canadians today are not paying the price.”
Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman said in a statement that it was clear after Carney’s “scripted appearance” on American television that he was “trying to rewrite history to convince Canadians that he is not responsible for the policies that he and Justin Trudeau forced on Canadians and caused them so much misery over the last nine years.”
“Carbon Tax Carney is a hypocrite,” Lantsman said. “He can’t hide from the truth. He’s just like Justin.”
As a longtime Liberal insider, adviser, and chair of the economic growth task force, Lantsman said Carney was “the furthest thing possible from an outsider.”
“He supported Trudeau’s massive inflationary deficits which caused a 40-year high in inflation,” Lantsman said. “He praised the punishing Trudeau carbon tax, even calling it a model for the world in his book. He supported every single Trudeau policy that doubled the debt, doubled housing costs, doubled gun crime, and doubled food bank use.”
While not explicitly stating he’d run for Liberal leader, Carney labelled himself an “outsider” in Canadian politics and didn’t reject Stewart’s attempts to pin him down.
A source said Monday that former finance minister Chrystia Freeland will announce a run for the leadership in the coming days.
Ontario MP Chandra Arya and former Montreal MP Frank Baylis are the only two to officially join the contest.
The Liberal Party of Canada will choose its next leader March 9.
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