Liberal Leader Mark Carney waves to photographers as he leaves a campaign announcement with Liberal candidate Steven Guilbeault, on April 4, in Montreal.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Liberal Leader Mark Carney defended his understanding of Western Canada Friday and described Reform Party founder Preston Manning’s recent warnings of Western separatism as dramatic and unhelpful.
Mr. Manning, who served as the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons between 1997 and 2000, wrote this week in The Globe and Mail that a vote for Mr. Carney and the Liberals “is a vote for Western secession – a vote for the breakup of Canada as we know it.”
When asked to respond, Mr. Carney began by pointing out that he was born in the Northwest Territories and grew up in Alberta.
“I resile to no one in terms of my understanding of the West, my connection to the West, and I’m part of a government that governs for all of the country, and very much for the West,” he said during a campaign news conference in Montreal.
“I think such dramatic comments are unhelpful at a time when Canadians are coming together, and that is the sense in the West as well.”
Mr. Carney pointed out that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also called for greater unity in response to Mr. Manning’s comments.
“This is a time when we need to come together as a country,” he said.
Poilievre distances himself from ex-Reform Leader Preston Manning’s comments on Western separatism
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is facing criticism from some prominent conservative voices, including former Alberta premier and federal minister Jason Kenney, over her response to this week’s tariff announcements from the United States.
Ms. Smith released a statement declaring the U.S. announcement a “big win” for Alberta and Canada, because the U.S. did not include Canada as part of its reciprocal tariff plan. However, other tariffs remain and new tariffs affecting Canada’s auto sector did go ahead, leading Stellantis to announce temporary layoffs of auto workers on both sides of the border and in Mexico.
When asked about Ms. Smith’s comments, Mr. Carney said Canada did avoid reciprocal tariffs.
“Canada got the best of a series of bad deals. That’s true. We did get a better deal than any other country,” he said, before adding that Canada is still subject to several other tariffs.
“So I don’t think this is time for celebration,” he said, using similar language to Mr. Kenney.
Ms. Smith has long criticized the federal Liberal government’s policies on climate change and the energy sector, saying they constrain economic growth. Oil and gas CEOs wrote an open letter to party leaders ahead of the election calling for fewer regulations in order to grow the sector as a way to support growth and diversify exports in response to U.S. trade policies. Mr. Poilievre has said he supports those recommendations.
Mr. Carney returned to Ontario later Friday. He spoke briefly with auto parts workers at a manufacturing facility in Vaughan ahead of an evening rally in Scarborough.
His campaign – which has included two interruptions to return to Ottawa for government meetings related to U.S. tariffs – has yet to travel west of Winnipeg. Mr. Carney said he will be in Western Canada on Sunday.
His campaign message of the day was a pledge to provide CBC/Radio-Canada with an additional $150-million a year in funding to improve its services. As part of that announcement, he criticized Mr. Poilievre’s position that he would defund English language CBC while maintaining French-language Radio-Canada.
“You can’t split this baby,” Mr. Carney said, calling Mr. Poilievre’s position “an attack on our Canadian identity.”
Mr. Poilievre’s campaign rally speeches frequently point to Mr. Carney’s Quebec lieutenant in cabinet, Steven Guilbeault, who was a high-profile Quebec-based environmentalist prior to entering politics. The Conservative leader says Mr. Guilbeault’s prominent role in cabinet means a Carney government would never allow an expansion of Canada’s oil and gas sector, which Mr. Poilievre said he would support as a key policy difference from the Liberals.
Mr. Guilbeault rejected that assessment Friday.
He said the Liberal government’s emission reduction policies do allow the oil and gas sector to increase production.
“So what Mr. Poilievre is saying is, unfortunately, a lie, and he does that a lot,” said Mr. Guilbeault, who attended Mr. Carney’s morning news conference in Montreal.
With a report from Steven Chase