One Year of Carney: His Words vs. Reality

April 2, 2026

Just over one year ago, on March 14, 2025, Mark Carney became the 24^th Prime Minister of Canada. He was initially elected as interim PM by members of the Liberal Party and was later voted in by Canadians in the general election. During the federal campaign, he positioned himself as the best candidate to take on President Trump and his tariff threats. His “elbows up” theme struck a chord with many Canadians who felt fearful of the American President’s rhetoric — and his promises to make life more affordable sounded appealing to the masses. However, after one year in office, many of those promises have not been fulfilled. In fact, life has only gotten harder for Canadians under this Prime Minister.

Let’s review, reflecting on Mr. Carney’s own words:

On Affordability — March 23, 2025

“My new government will focus on helping hard-working Canadians keep more of their paychecks to spend where it matters most: on homes, groceries, and their families. Every Canadian should be able to afford necessities, feel secure, and get ahead financially – and this tax cut will help them do that.” -Mark Carney

Food inflation is now rising twice as fast as it was before Mr. Carney took office. Food prices skyrocketed 7.3 per cent year-over-year, leading to Canada having the highest food price increases in the G7. Canadian families are projected to pay nearly $1,000 more in food costs this year. A record-breaking 2.2 million Canadians have lined up at food banks under this new Prime Minister and sadly, Food Banks Canada has said that we now live in a country “where hunger is normalized.” It’s no surprise then, that nearly half of restaurants are operating at a loss or barely breaking even, with 7,000 closing in 2025 and as many as 4,000 projected to close in 2026.

On Energy — April 9, 2025:

“Canada has a tremendous opportunity to be the world’s leading energy superpower, in both clean and conventional energy. We are going to aggressively develop projects that are in the national interest in order to protect Canada’s energy security, diversify our trade, and enhance our long-term competitiveness – all while reducing emissions. We can lead the energy transition while ensuring affordable energy at home and building the strongest economy in the G7.” – Mark Carney

Bill C-5 was passed in the House of Commons last summer, supposedly to fast-track major infrastructure projects, remove interprovincial trade barriers, and streamline environmental approvals. PM Carney later signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to get Alberta oil to the British Columbia coast for export to Asian markets – and deemed it a project of “national interest”. However, it’s clear that the first set of deadlines in the MOU (originally set for April 1^st) have not been met. This is disappointing and creates more uncertainty for investors, who remain reluctant to commit to projects in Canada (due to Liberal policies that Mark Carney has yet to repeal, such as Bill C-69 and C-48). And, with each passing day, the national unity crisis rages on.

In April 2025, Carney said, “We can’t build Canada into an energy superpower if we can’t actually get the shovels into the ground… To put it plainly, we need to get going.”

A year later, there are no shovels in the ground.

The MOU clock is ticking. The agreement was to have a formal project application ready for review by July 1, 2026, with the intention of starting construction by 2029. Will this deadline be missed as well?

On Crime, Justice, and Public Safety — April 10, 2025:

“Canadians deserve to feel safe where they live, play, work, and worship. My government will hire thousands of new RCMP and CBSA officers to crack down on illegal drugs and guns coming from the United States, increase funding to prosecute violent criminal gangs, make bail laws stricter for home invasions and car thefts, protect our children, and shield Canadians from gun violence. We will also protect community spaces so that Canadians can live their lives in safety and security. We will disrupt and dismantle criminal networks, bolster the justice system, and build a stronger and safer Canada for everyone.” -Mark Carney

Last fall, Conservatives called on the Prime Minister to deliver on his promise to “act decisively” on reversing Liberal soft-on-crime policies by supporting their “Jail Not Bail” bill. When they had an opportunity to act, Liberals voted against a bill that would have: 

1. Repealed and replaced the Liberal “Principle of Restraint” with a directive that public protection and safety be the primary consideration when deciding on bail.
2. Introduced a new “Major Offences” category with reverse onus bail conditions for firearm, sexual, kidnapping, human trafficking, home invasion, robbery, extortion, arson, and assault charges.
3. Strengthened bail laws by mandating judges consider an accused’s full criminal history, preventing anyone convicted of a major offence in the last 10 years while also on bail and charged with a major offence from receiving bail, and toughening the risk assessment standard from “substantial likelihood” to “reasonably foreseeable.”
4. Prohibited anyone with an indictable conviction from acting as a guarantor, required judges to enforce bail conditions on guarantors, and required non-residents to surrender their passports upon request.

The Bill had received support from the Toronto Police Association [CH5] and, when it was announced last year, Poilievre was joined by representatives of the Canadian Police Association and Peel Police Association. It was also backed by families and victim rights advocates, including the family of Bailey McCourt and End Violence Everywhere. 

Instead of simply repealing failed Liberal bail policies, Carney introduced a half-baked attempt to copy the Conservatives’ bill which did nothing to reverse a decade of soft-on-crime laws that gutted jail sentences and let gangs and extortionists rule our streets. 

Plans for “tough on crime” legislation have been announced but none are yet to materialize. The Prime Minister’s failure to prioritize Canadians’ safety puts us all at risk – and voting against the Jail Not Bail Bill was completely counterintuitive to the promises he made during his campaign.

On Youth issues:

In his campaign platform, Carney stated: “It’s time to build the future young Canadians deserve, where they have the tools to succeed in the years ahead.”

Sadly, Canadian youth are experiencing the worst youth job market since the Great Recession (outside the pandemic) – and the problem hasn’t gone away, with almost 50,000 youth losing their jobs last month and the youth unemployment rate rising to 14.1 per cent. (Read more here).

Even those who get educated are struggling. Roughly one in six workers with postsecondary credentials are in jobs unrelated to their training, as new graduates are unable to build careers in their fields.

Young people are frustrated knowing that it was possible for their parents to buy a home, have a car (or two), eat well, and enjoy life – on a single salary. That ideal is completely out of reach for youth today. In fact, Mark Carney told Canadian youth they would need to “sacrifice” more despite already facing a housing crisis, high inflation, and job scarcity.

On Tariffs – March 2025

“And my government will keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us respect and until they can join us in making credible and reliable commitments to free and fair trade.” – Mark Carney

Despite being elected on the rhetoric of “Canada Strong” and “Elbows Up” and having a year to get it done, Mark Carney has not yet secured a deal with President Trump to remove tariffs on Canadian goods.

Rather than working with the USA, Canada’s biggest trading partner and greatest ally, Carney has chosen to strike deals with communist China instead.

And, after all the tough talk, Carney capitulated and removed retaliatory 25 per cent tariffs on CUSMA-compliant U.S. goods just a few months later.

Conservative Leader, Mr. Poilievre was recently interviewed by David Gura of Bloomberg, and outlined how he would handle negotiations with President Donald Trump:

On Housing – May 2025:

“Canada must build an enormous amount of new infrastructure at speeds not seen in generations.” – Mark Carney

This phrase appeared in Carney’s Mandate Letter and was a signature slogan for his proposed housing and infrastructure plan, aiming for rapid construction. Mr. Carney touted his housing plan as the country’s “most ambitious housing plan since the Second World War”.

Unfortunately, new housing construction will drop 16.6 per cent as Carney’s housing agency expects housing starts to fall to as low as 212,000 per year by 2028 – well below the 10-year historical average. Their latest forecast finds housing starts will be 55 per cent below the CMHC’s target necessary to restore housing affordability. 

Failing to build homes has a real impact: housing prices will continue to rise over the next three years, and “many households will delay buying homes and choose to rent longer.” So far, the Liberals’ solution – a fourth housing bureaucracy – has spent zero dollars on capital investment and spent the year building no new housing.

In conclusion, after one year in office, Mr. Carney has given some flowery speeches, made announcements and put some nice ideas in the window, but has not put actions behind his words (reminiscent of his predecessor). Mr. Carney was elected on the basis of his campaign promises and Stephanie and her Conservative colleagues believe he must be held accountable. Canadians across the country should also hold him accountable. Are our lives better today than they were a year ago?