Prime Minister Mark Carney is sitting down with his cabinet to chart out the government’s fall plan as he prepares to face off against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre for the first time in the House of Commons amid an unresolved trade war with the United States.
Carney’s two days of talks in the Greater Toronto Area start Wednesday with plans to focus on helping industries hit hard by Trump’s tariffs, building affordable homes, speeding up big infrastructure projects, spending more on defence and combatting crime.
David Coletto, CEO and founder of Abacus Data, said he’s seeing evidence that the public’s focus on U.S. President Donald Trump is starting to subside, putting pressure on Carney’s government to answer how it plans to tackle other problems.
“The uncertainty that [Trump is] creating might be the norm,” said Coletto. “And so now they’re also looking for the government to address some other issues.”
Coletto says the cost of living, health care, crime and immigration are top of mind for Canadians, along with the trade war. Poilievre, who campaigned on a promise to address the cost of living, has a news conference scheduled in the Greater Toronto Area on Wednesday focused on immigration.
Poilievre is returning to Parliament this month after securing a seat known as a Conservative stronghold in Alberta following his general election loss last spring. He’s accused Carney of making generous concessions to Trump without getting anything in return — including dropping some retaliatory tariffs to try and advance trade talks.
One of Carney’s MPs told CBC News that cabinet can’t ignore Poilievre’s ability to pivot. The Conservative leader is resilient, intelligent and his party has a lot of money to pounce on the Liberals with advertising or other techniques if it sees an opening, the MP said.
That MP, who spoke on the condition they not be named so they could speak freely, said they also want cabinet to talk about its communication approach so they don’t fall down the same trap as during the Trudeau years. The party took a beating for its top-down messaging which the public perceived as elitist and arrogant, they said.
Another Liberal MP told CBC News that some caucus members are frustrated by how little influence they have. They said MPs are learning about decisions Carney and his office are making in the news.
That MP says the Liberals can’t afford to move so far to the right that they alienate the entire base of NDP voters they gained during the last election.
The Prime Minister’s Office says pollster Jean-Marc Léger will be talking to cabinet about polling and the general mood of the country.
Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu says cabinet will be focused on its Build Canada Strong agenda. She pointed to Dawn Farrell, former head of Trans Mountain Corp., who is in charge of a new office to fast-track Canadian infrastructure projects of national interest.
“We’ll be talking about proposed projects,” said Hajdu. “This is a very ambitious government and I can tell you that the prime minister is focused on the speed of delivery.”
The Liberal government is also facing a call from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs to confront what it calls an “alarming rise of antisemitism across our country” including increasing funding for community security and banning the glorification of terrorism.
Carney’s talks with cabinet are unfolding as the Liberal government continues to work on a budget that’s expected to include some serious belt-tightening. Carney promised a budget in October after his finance minister originally said they would only present a fall economic statement.
The look and feel of Carney’s talks are expected to be different compared to his predecessor’s time in office. The Prime Minister’s Office has moved away from calling the meeting a “cabinet retreat” like it did under the Trudeau government, instead dubbing it a “cabinet planning forum.”
Carney’s office also said the forum is focused on working meetings and certain ministers and panellists will be assigned to speak to journalists at a microphone rather than a free flow of many ministers stopping to address reporters on camera.
