Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government will shepherd the most “consequential” legislation in decades in the next sitting.
During an address to his caucus on Friday, he promised to push legislation on social media safety. Canada can lead the world in digital safeguards, including on AI, he said. He also promised movement on subsidies for young people getting into the skilled trades and to expand trade on a series of industrial exports.
Speaking to a group of elected Liberal parliamentarians who repeatedly broke into applause, Carney described “a new, powerful, confident and united Canada.” He also spoke about his government’s plan to decrease approval times for large projects, repeating a mantra “one project, one review, one year.”
On the heels of a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a two-day investment summit in Toronto and the promise of a deal to draw closer to the EU, Carney said, “in the midst of a rupture we have to move forward.”
Washington ‘asked too much’
Turning to deteriorated trade talks with the U.S., Carney characterized the breakdown as a necessary measure to protect Canadian self-determination.
“Last month, we made the right decision to suspend our negotiations with the United States,” he said. “They asked too much. We wouldn’t give it.”
The last formal negotiations between Canada and the United States ended abruptly on Aug. 21, days after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested the two sides had the framework of a deal. Carney suspended those talks at the 11th hour, accusing the American side of making last-minute demands.
Both sides blame each other for the impasse.
He repeated Canada will return to the negotiating table “in good faith” when the Americans are ready to reach a deal that “respects our sovereignty.”
Last week, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said informal talks are ongoing.
‘Head-spinning’ changes
CTV News Political Commentator Scott Reid says Carney is betting Canadians will follow him through a series of “head-spinning” financial and political decisions.
“He’s asking a lot of the country,” said Reid, who also served as communications director for former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin.
Reid raised Carney’s explosive increase in defence spending – amounting to an estimated $150 billion per year – as well as the potential overhaul to Canada’s relationship with the EU and Canada’s growing stack of trade agreements with countries around the world.
He also referenced the Liberals’ so-called “mega” deduction for businesses, which allows companies to deduct 100 per cent of various asset costs.
The initiative is projected to cost $36 billion over five years, according to analysis from TD.
He said those initiatives are likely to result in large deficits, which Canadians may tolerate “if they believe they are necessary in order to move through this moment and take on Trump.”