Opposition leader says recycled appointments won’t deliver needed change on housing, economy
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre criticized prime minister Mark Carney’s newly unveiled cabinet on Tuesday, warning that Canadians should brace for more of the same policies seen under former PM Justin Trudeau.
Following Carney’s swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall, Poilievre accused the new Liberal leader of surrounding himself with too many holdovers from Trudeau’s administration.
“In his first press conference, Mr. Carney talked a good game about reversing Liberal policies in these areas, but now we have to find out if he was serious — and so far, it’s not a promising start,” Poilievre said. “He appointed Trudeau’s old team, and Trudeau’s old advisors.”
In total, 14 ministers from the Trudeau era are part of Carney’s cabinet. Among them are Chrystia Freeland, Steven Guilbeault, and Sean Frase, all of whom Poilievre singled out for their roles in managing portfolios he says are now in crisis.
“Sean Fraser was the immigration minister who caused the immigration crisis, the housing minister who gave us the housing crisis, and now he’s the minister responsible for addressing the Liberal crime crisis,” Poilievre said. “It seems like he is the master at failing upward.”
Freeland, who served as Trudeau’s finance minister, was also criticized for running up federal debt and overseeing carbon tax increases.
“Madame Freeland, who had enormous deficits and tax hikes,” Poilievre said in French, “she is still in cabinet.”
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He also took a swipe at François-Philippe Champagne, Carney’s new finance minister.
“He’s a nice guy, but he was the minister of industry during which we had the worst economic growth of any country in the G7, and now he’s in charge of the budget.”
Trade war challenges
Carney’s government enters office amid growing economic and geopolitical tension, particularly with the United States. President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada has disrupted supply chains across multiple sectors, including automotive, energy, and manufacturing.
When asked which ministers would be involved in managing the Canada-US relationship, Carney named Anita Anand (foreign affairs), François-Philippe Champagne (finance), Dominic LeBlanc (Canada-US trade), David McGuinty (national defence), Gary Anandasangaree (public safety), and Kristen Hillman (Canada’s ambassador to the US).
Carney noted that these officials were part of recent discussions with Trump at the White House, where they addressed the cross-border supply disruptions.
In addition to repairing trade ties, Carney has outlined priorities including boosting Canada’s housing supply with modular construction, diversifying trade and security partnerships beyond the US, and capping immigration levels.
Poilievre said some of his own ideas had made their way into the new government’s agenda, including the decision to repeal the consumer portion of the federal carbon tax.
“Many of them were stolen,” he said. “That doesn’t make me bitter … I want you to steal my ideas.”
The opposition
Despite losing his seat in the last election, Poilievre confirmed he will continue to lead the Conservative Party and plans to hold the government accountable when the House of Commons reconvenes.
“Let’s see what the government does — the previous government, to be frank, was a disaster, so we had every reason to oppose basically everything they did,” he said.
“When we put forward good ideas and the government accepts them, then we’re going to be celebrating. If the government acts against the interests of the country, then we will fight tooth and nail to stop them.”
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