Canada’s Most Popular Conservative Is Mark Carney |
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Canada’s Most Popular Conservative Is Mark Carney
His economic agenda has scrambled the political map. The question is how long it can last
Prime Minister Mark Carney has reportedly told his caucus that he’s not interested in their concerns. He wants to hear about what can be done and how to do it, not what is wrong and why action can’t go ahead.
The Carney administration is prioritizing fast development in key national-interest sectors like energy
Former priorities, such as housing, affordability, and environmental protection, have been pushed aside
Carney’s popularity even beyond the Liberal base remains stable, but these policies may alienate certain voters in the long term
Call it solutions-based conservatism. Trump has given this approach both urgency and permission. The threat from Washington has reordered Canada’s economic priorities, pushing aside the bread-and-butter anxieties—housing, affordability, wages, the cost of living—that dominated politics only recently. In their place is a more existential question. How quickly can Canada make itself less dependent on the United States?
Carney’s answer is to move fast and let markets do much of the work, with government acting as a champion of industry—or, to use the prime minister’s preferred language, “catalyzing” private investment and growth. For Carney, Ottawa’s job is to put its shoulder to the wheel behind favourite sectors like energy and artificial intelligence. The message is clear: either lend a hand or get out of the way.
That approach was on full display in the negotiations with Alberta over a second bitumen pipeline to the Pacific, a long-elusive provincial prize. The moment Carney decided to pursue it, objections seemed beside the point. In November 2025, Ottawa and Alberta premier Danielle Smith’s government signed a memorandum of understanding, laying out a path to construction, including the loosening of several environmental regulations.
Conspicuous by his absence was David Eby, premier of British Columbia—the province the pipeline would actually cross. Try to imagine Ontario premier Doug Ford and Carney proudly signing an MOU over a pipeline through Quebec without Quebec’s premier in attendance. It would never happen. The agreement, however, left little doubt about the rules of engagement. As long as Eby wanted to talk about problems with a potential pipeline, he wasn’t welcome in discussions about its........