Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney is raising the eyebrows of at least one opponent who is questioning why the unelected contender is acting as though he’s officially part of the U.S. trade tariff negotiations.
Ruby Dhalla confronted Carney on a recent statement where he claimed to be in regular contact with federal ministers leading the trade file.
She suggested that Carney was already assuming the role of prime minister despite the Liberal leadership election not set to conclude until Mar. 9.
Dhalla asked on X “what official capacity” Carney had to be regularly communicating with high-level ministers on national issues.
The questions arose following a statement from Carney in which he claimed to be in regular contact with the aforementioned ministers. He discussed his opinion of the tariffs and his short- and medium-term plans.
“The tariffs imposed by the United States today are a clear violation of our trade agreements and require the most serious trade and economic responses in our history,” said Carney.
Other accounts on X asked similar questions — alleging that Carney was prematurely assuming the role of prime minister without due process.
“Mark Carney is already taking on the role of Prime Minister. He’ll likely win the leadership race and replace Trudeau. Jagmeet Singh will then no longer support a non-confidence vote, preventing an early election,” warned popular X account govt.exe is corrupt. “Canada has been played by the Liberal/NDP Govt once again!”
Accompanying the post was a clip of Carney being interviewed by Jon Stewart. In the clip, Stewart asked Carney what he thought of President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Canada become the 51st state.
“The bottom line: it’s not going to happen,” said Carney.
The interview with Stewart was the same one in which Carney claimed he was a political “outsider.”
Dhalla posted to X that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trump had scheduled a call to discuss the tariffs on Monday, which ultimately resulted in Canada getting a month-long pause, like Mexico. She said Carney had to answer for whether he was privy to classified information and why ministers were excluding other candidates from the discussion.
Dhalla has also been critical of Carney in other instances, calling him “Trudeau 2.0.” Her critique echoes that of the Conservative Party of Canada, which called Carney “just like Justin.”
Director of Communications for the Conservative Party of Canada Sarah Fischer reminded Canadians in a post to X that Carney is not an elected member of Parliament.
“He’s the architect and promoter of the disastrous economic policies that have impoverished our people, he caters to foreign interests, and this guy thinks he should be the Prime Minister,” she said. “Carbon Tax Carney is not in this for Canada.”
The next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada will be chosen when the party’s leadership election concludes on Mar. 9. The winner will become prime minister of Canada without a federal election.
True North reached out to Carney and the Liberal Party for comment but received no reply.
