Mark Carney's minority government has an unexpected partner in the Conservatives — for now
OTTAWA—There's a new coalition in town.
If the last Parliament was dominated by the Conservatives' insistence that the Liberal-NDP alliance had spun the country into an irreversible state of disarray, the opening weeks of the latest session has put a new pact on the map.
'It appears to me, and it remains to be seen, that (Prime Minister) Carney's new majority coalition is Liberal-Conservative, delivering Pierre Poilievre's policies with a more friendly face,' said the Green Party's Elizabeth May on Monday, as she raised the alarm over C-5, the Liberals' major projects bill.
The Grit-Tory co-operation around that bill, which led to the proposed legislation being bulldozed through Parliament this week, prompted members of other federal parties to make the same dig.
The Bloc Québécois warned of a 'new cross-party alliance,' while the NDP accused both parties of joining forces to steamroll over environmental protections and Indigenous rights.
Of course, there is no actual coalition at play.
But charges of one, combined with a fledgling Carney government pulling the Liberals away from the left, means the Conservatives must make a new case as to why they are still the top alternative in a post-Justin Trudeau world.
'Mark Carney is governing like a Progressive Conservative. So where's your opportunity?' said Tim Powers, a former Conservative strategist and chair of Summa Strategies.
Carney's 'One Canadian Economy' bill, which proposes, in part, to grant Ottawa temporary powers to fast-track major resource and infrastructure projects, contains some promises that are not altogether different from what Poilievre pledged during this year's campaign.
Rapidly spurring Canadian resource projects and accelerating approvals were key commitments in the Conservatives' platform, even if they were accompanied by other promises like scrapping the industrial carbon price and repealing the Liberals' contentious Impact Assessment Act.
Bill C-5 is unlike any piece of legislation we have seen in Canada federally.
Because Bill C-5 doesn't go that far, it doesn't have Poilievre's complete approval.
And while his decision to be the Liberals' dance partner this week quickly drew the ire of other opposition parties, others believe it wasn't a damaging move.
'Canadians ultimately want them to work together,' said Shakir Chambers, a Conservative strategist and vice president at the public affairs firm Oyster Group.
'If you're going to co-operate on some things, co-operate on the things that you have been championing, even pre-election, to move forward and get them passed.'
Powers said Poilievre now has heavyweights in his caucus like Edmonton Northwest MP Billy Morin, the former chief of Enoch Cree Nation, to push back against narratives that the Conservatives aren't attuned to concerns from Indigenous communities about the bill.
MPs are expressing reservations about the push to fast-track major development projects.
The Liberals, too, don't seem particularly bothered by the 'coalition' barbs.
'I don't take them very seriously,' London Centre Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos told the Star.
'I'm very glad (the Conservatives) are coming to the game and playing a constructive role. It's been a very long time since they've done that,' Liberal MP and former House Speaker Greg Fergus said.
Nevertheless, the early weeks of Canada's 45th Parliament have offered a few glimpses into where the Conservatives see their lines of attack.
One emerged this week in the form of the Trudeau-era target that zero-emission vehicles should make up 20 per cent of new car sales starting in 2026, growing to 100 per cent by 2035.
'Well, somebody wants to tell you where to go and how to get there,' Poilievre said in a five-and-a-half minute video posted on social media Thursday. 'It's the Liberal government's new attempt to ban your gas-powered vehicles.'
Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman introduced a defeated motion this week, calling on the Liberals to scrap the policy and posting on social media that 'the government has no place in the driveways of Canadians.'
The policy is not a 'new attempt,' nor is it a flat-out 'ban' on gas-powered vehicles: it's a regulatory scheme aimed at incentivizing the sale of more EVs.
'That's another thing that Justin Trudeau was focused on,' Powers said. 'Guys, wake up! And girls. Justin Trudeau is gone. He's gone. There's a new Liberal leader, and he's not giving you much ammunition.'
But Chambers said zeroing in on the EV mandate is a natural next step for a party focused on buoying the oil and gas sector.
'It's a good point to attack,' Chambers said. 'If you bring back … the industrial carbon tax issue, again, opposing the EV mandate kind of fits with that overall blanket of policy ideas.'
Other issues the party focused on this week, such as bringing forward a motion imposing a lifetime ban on ArriveCAN contractor GCStrategies, were more successful.
But Chambers said that the past few weeks of Parliament have mostly been a 'test run', and that Canadians are currently focused on more pressing issues like affordability, trade disruptions and international conflicts.
That's where he says Poilievre's focus should lie as he prepares for a fall session, where it's expected that the Conservative leader will make his triumphant return to the House of Commons after a summer byelection, revamp his shadow cabinet with fresh faces, and set Carney's first federal budget in his sights.
He'll also have to factor in the Conservative party's national convention, set to be held next January, where he will face a leadership review following his election loss.
Powers said that by the time the calendar rolls over into September, he wants to see more 'maturity' from the party.
'I think Conservatives need to lead a little bit again in thought, not just in (social media) clip, and in meme,' Powers said.
'Poilievre's a smart fellow. How can he do that? Where can he put a marker down?'
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