The Parliamentary Press Gallery wrote to the PM last month, inviting him to return to the National Press Theatre to speak with reporters.
Liberals say there’s been a ‘180-degree’ shift in discipline, tone, and policy led by the prime minister, but there are warnings against overconfidence as affordability concerns persist.
Despite the differing styles of previous officers, the government should make this appointment a top priority when Parliament returns this week because, as the Organisation for the Economic Co-Operation and Development pointed out in its first-ever review of the PBO (which was conducted at Jason Jacques’ request), this office is the best in the world.
It’s an open question as to whether the prime minister will treat the Senate as a strategic asset or leave the institution under-utilized in a national moment when it is most needed to rebuild national cohesion.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has not made it clear how he will move ahead with appointing Senators. But others say he’s got ‘bigger fish to fry’ right now.
With the official unveiling of former prime minister Stephen Harper’s portrait on Feb. 3, here are some stories from the history of the Hill’s prime ministerial collection. By the way, John Diefenbaker loved his flowing academic robe from the University of the Punjab. Like he really loved it, a lot, until it was stolen out of his hotel room one night when he went out for dinner with his wife Olive.
Part of an embargoed advisory for Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent foreign travel was published online by Conservative MP Shuvaloy Majumdar two days after being distributed to the press gallery. Reporters say identifying the leaker is essential to protecting the gallery’s credibility.
How has Mark Carney performed? Brilliantly, and I’m not a partisan. He has been bold, determined, visionary, and in tune with current public sentiment. He is less concerned about being ‘politically correct’ than with producing results.
Underneath the welter of new alliances Mark Carney is forming to save Canada economically and recover some of our strength internationally, I sense that he’s holding back from boldly advancing UN principles and international law.
Every new prime minister eventually faces turbulence, and that’s when a strong and trusted palace guard is ‘essential,’ says political historian and former Liberal MP John English. But at a critical time in Canadian history, Carney’s team is going to have to learn fast.
In a minority government, it is critical to have a senior strategist with regular, direct access to the prime minister, says Greg Lyle, president of Innovative Research.
Groucho Marx’s dictum works in Canadian politics. Principles are less important than results. The Liberals have always known this. Perhaps the NDP and the Conservatives will eventually learn this, too.
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs’ Heidi Cook says the Carney government backing Manitoba’s Port of Churchill as a national-interest project was a ‘surprise to a lot’ of First Nations in the area.
One expert says there is ‘no way’ for the prime minister ‘to not be in conflict,’ emphasizing that the path ahead is being transparent about how conflicts of interest will be mitigated, not trying to remove them altogether.
Mark Carney has demonstrated sure-footedness and confidence in his vision of transforming Canada’s economic fundamentals. However, many of the high cards in his quest are not in his hands.
Carney is obviously talking to Trump behind the scenes, but he better start showing Canadians that he has some backbone, too. As difficult as it is to deal with this current president, Carney’s long game should always be about defending Canada and Canadian values, as well as rallying other countries to do the right thing for the world.
The message seems to be ‘trust me’—and so far, most Canadians are inclined to. Besides, a honeymoon is not the time for awkward questions.
The new prime minister needs to come clean with the Canadian public. It is the existential threat of climate change, nuclear weapons, pandemics and forced migrations of peoples that also challenge Canada’s security. Mark Carney must think beyond NATO to be a credible leader.
Top public servants might straighten up and self-correct if they know the prime minister isn’t afraid of swift discipline, say former bureaucrats, who welcome Carney’s ‘sound management practices.’
Mark Carney’s Priorities, Planning, and Strategy Cabinet Committee—which seats 11 of the prime minister’s top ministers—suggests an ‘empowering’ approach to cabinet management, say politicos.
Gerald Butts and David Lametti hold no official roles in the Liberal government, but Prime Minister Mark Carney informally seeks their advice on key political matters, say Liberal sources.
We will soon see how Carney manages in the fiery pit of partisan politics. Unfortunately, that pit is unavoidable. It is part of democracy, for better or for worse.
The world remains a mess. Wars rage abroad. Canada’s economy remains under threat. The U.S. president seems to change his mind on vital issues every few hours. Our domestic situation, especially on the national unity front, is complicated, to say the least. So there’s a lot going on, and a lot to be worried about. But hey, we’ve got Parliament back. And that is a start.
Last week, some of Mark Carney’s cabinet ministers looked like rookies, and their lack of political savviness could drag down the cabinet at a time when Carney has the chance to successfully lead the country through this transformational time in history and potentially become a rallying point for the Western world.
‘There appeared to be a lack of discipline, sloppiness, and we did have some ministers off message, displaying their traditional biases rather than toeing the party line as articulated by the prime minister,’ says the Pendulum Group’s Yaroslav Baran.
