Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s criticisms of Mark Carney got personal on Tuesday, while the Liberal leader hit back at Poilievre’s political career.
Poilievre’s past swipes at his main political opponent include criticisms that Carney is no different than his predecessor Justin Trudeau and that the Liberal leader co-chaired two investment funds that were registered in Bermuda during his time at Brookfield Asset Management.
During a news conference on Tuesday, Poilievre again levied those criticisms but also added some personal digs.
He said voters shouldn’t think Carney is any different from Trudeau “because he has a banker’s haircut and wears a pair of blue socks.”
Poilievre also narrowed in on Carney’s private sector experience, which the Liberal leader has touted during the campaign.
“Mr. Carney is not a businessman. He is a political grifter,” Poilievre said Tuesday in response to a question about Carney’s past business dealings.
Speaking at a news conference later in the day, Carney took a few digs of his own at Poilievre. The Liberal leader largely aimed at Poilievre’s career as an MP, and contrasted that to his experience working as the head of the Bank of Canada with Stephen Harper’s government during the 2008 financial crisis.
“Pierre Poilievre was not at any of those tables, was not given any of that responsibility and … in subsequent years has not gained any responsibilities in managing crises,” he said.
Harper endorses Poilievre for PM ‘for a better, stronger and more united future’
Poilievre was an MP in Harper’s government during the financial crisis. He was named to Harper’s cabinet in 2013.
Carney’s comments came in response to a question about Harper endorsing Poilievre during a rally in Edmonton on Monday night.
“I am the only person who can say that both of the men running to be prime minister once worked for me,” he told a large crowd of supporters.
Harper leaned into Poilievre’s experience as a politician and implied that Carney had parachuted into the job.
“Political experience — elected, accountable political experience — and the capacity for growth with that political experience, that is what Pierre has demonstrated for two decades and that is the single-most important characteristic a prime minister needs,” Harper said.
The 36-day campaign is nearing its halfway point.
During a rally in Victoria on Sunday, Carney took a jab at Alberta Premier Danielle Smith while talking about how Canada can respond to tariffs from the U.S.
“We’re sending Doug Ford on to Fox News, to show them we’re not messing around up here. And we’re going to send Danielle next, we’re — well maybe we won’t send Danielle,” he said, with a grimace. “That was a bad idea.”
When asked Tuesday if the remarks could contribute to a sense of western alienation, Carney downplayed it as a “lighthearted comment.”
“I have a lot of respect for the premier, we’ve worked together,” he said, referencing a first ministers’ meeting in March to develop a national trade strategy.
‘I have a lot of respect for the premier,’ Carney says of Danielle Smith
The Liberals have been leading the Conservatives in most polls since the election campaign kicked off. CBC’s Poll Tracker has the average support for the Liberals at 44 per cent compared to the Conservatives averaging at about 37 per cent.
Some polls are also showing that Carney is leading Poilievre on likeability. A recent Angus Reid survey found that 55 per cent of respondents had a favourable view of Carney, compared to 36 per cent for Poilievre. When asked, 50 per cent of respondents said Carney would be their preference for prime minister, compared to 28 per cent who said Poilievre would be their choice. The survey had a two per cent margin of error.
Two other main party leaders are also mostly setting their sights on Carney in recent days.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet — who is trailing the Liberals in the polls in Quebec — said Monday that Carney “does not give a damn” about the province.
“He will never say that he doesn’t like us, but I don’t feel the love … I don’t feel interest for the culture, I don’t feel interest for anything which is Quebec,” he said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told reporters Tuesday that people are worried about Poilievre but spared most of his criticisms for Carney.
“If you’re worried about him and you’re saying, ‘I’m worried that Mark Carney is going to cut the things that I care about. I’m worried that he [was] the chair of a company that engaged in tax avoidance, a tax dodger, that I’m worried about what that means,’ [then] re-elect your New Democrat … send more New Democrats to Ottawa,” Singh said.
