OTTAWA — The Opposition Conservatives say Liberal leadership frontrunner Mark Carney lied about his role in moving investment firm Brookfield Asset Management’s head office from Toronto to New York.
“Last night, Mark Carney lied to Canadians… saying that (Brookfield) only moved their headquarters… after he had resigned from the board,” said Conservative ethics critic Michael Barrett at a Tuesday morning press conference on Parliament Hill.
Speaking at a post-leadership debate scrum on Monday, Carney said the “formal decision” to move the company headquarters was made after he cut ties with the firm last month to run for Liberal leader.
“I do not have a connection with Brookfield,” Carney told reporters.
Carney started his role as Brookfield’s chair and head of transition investing in August 2020, according to his LinkedIn page.
Conservatives say Carney’s timeline doesn’t line up with the public record.
Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman noted that the Financial Post reported on the relocation of Brookfield’s headquarters on Nov. 1, more than two months before Carney stepped down from his advisory role with the firm.
“Mark Carney got caught lying,” wrote Lantsman on X.
Conservatives also circulated a letter to shareholders, dated Dec. 1, 2024, in which Carney wrote that the board unanimously approved the relocation plan.
“The most common feedback we hear from investors encourages us to position (Brookfield Asset Management) for inclusion in some of the most widely followed global large cap stock indices, including in the U.S.,” the letter reads.
The letter encouraged shareholders to vote in favour of moving Brookfield’s head office to New York.
Carney’s campaign called the Conservative accusations a misrepresentation of his work with Brookfield.
“Pierre Poilievre is scared of running against Mark Carney, and he’s desperate to misrepresent Mark’s serious experience in business because he has no economic experience whatsoever,” said the Carney campaign in an email to the National Post.
“The changes reported are technical in nature, and with respect to jobs, Brookfield has clearly stated that Canadian operations were not impacted.”
Carney said in his Jan. 16 campaign launch that he’d left all his board and advisory positions, including roles with Brookfield, Bloomberg and payment company Stripe.
He’s since rebuffed calls to proactively disclose his remaining corporate holdings and potential conflicts of interest before taking a seat in Parliament.
National Post
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