“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” This memorable line from The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” has been used in various ways for over 50 years. As Mark Carney, the newly-elected Liberal leader and now prime minister takes over from Justin Trudeau, we can add this side-by-side comparison to the discussion.
For if you think the former Bank of England and Bank of Canada governor will be vastly different from his predecessor, you’re only fooling yourself.
Carney is certainly more intelligent and capable than Trudeau. That’s not as great as it may sound on the surface because the bar has been set very low. As I recently said during a GB News interview, a trained chimpanzee would probably have been a better choice. I was only half-joking.
When you look at their political ideas, personal views and preferred policies, Carney and Trudeau are remarkably similar. They’re both left-wing, pro-government intervention, distrusting of privatization and free markets, favourable towards wealth redistribution, supportive of radical environmentalist policies, woke ideology and political correctness — and more.
Don’t believe me? Here are a few examples.
Carney has long been linked with left-wing environmental ideas and policies that are both costly and unattainable. “Climate change is an existential threat,” he said in 2021. “We all recognize that, and there’s increasing urgency around it.” He previously served as the United Nations special envoy on climate action and finance, chaired COP26, supported the concept of net-zero climate solutions and founded a financial alliance for net-zero emissions.
He’s also backed a sustainable world economy or values-led economy. “I’m optimistic about sustainability and the road to net zero in the sense that it provides an opportunity to realign our social values and value in the market,” he said in a 2021 interview with Strategy+Business. He supported instilling “values-based leadership, to drive this transformation” as well as “effective governance and policy, by leveraging the social solidarity we saw develop over the pandemic.”
Who does this sound like? Trudeau.
In a June 2024 statement for World Environment Day, Trudeau, then the prime minister, said that climate change was impacting the population at “an alarming rate.”
“It is our collective responsibility to protect, restore, and preserve the environment for our children and grandchildren. From combatting unprecedented wildfires to ensuring clean air and fresh water, we remain steadfast in doing whatever it takes to protect our planet.”
This helps explain why the environment has been Trudeau’s biggest pet project: over $100 billion in taxpayer dollars have been spent on climate change policies, and he’s focused relentlessly on — you guessed it — working towards a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
Carney has also spoken out against wealth inequality and in favour of wealth redistribution: “Globalization is associated with low wages, insecure employment, stateless corporations and striking inequalities,” he said in a 2016 speech. That’s complete nonsense, but it didn’t stop him from blasting away at “staggering wealth inequalities” and suggesting that “redistribution and fairness also mean turning back the tide of stateless corporations.”
This, combined with Carney’s outrageous remark that the radical 2011 Occupy Wall Street protests were “entirely constructive” showed his contempt for free markets, private enterprise and wealth generation. His words were rather rich, considering he was surely part of the wealthy one per cent that the protestors opposed.
Who does this sound like? Once again, Trudeau.
Trudeau targeted wealth inequality as far back as 2017, attacking high-income earners for tax evasion. “It’s time to pay a living wage, to pay your taxes, and to give your workers the benefits — and peace of mind — that come with stable, full-time contracts,” Trudeau infamously said at a 2017 black-tie dinner in Germany. His 2020 throne speech even suggested that government initiatives for health care, childcare and housing would be partly financed by identifying “additional ways to tax extreme wealth inequality” and clamping down on “tax avoidance by digital giants.”
What about Carney’s proposal to scrap Trudeau’s hated carbon tax during the leadership race? Things aren’t quite what they seem. The new prime minister has long supported carbon offsets, and told the Senate banking committee in May 2024 that the carbon tax “served a purpose up until now.” We can safely say he’s changed his tune because Trudeau made this issue unviable. Plus, Carney is planning to replace it with an incentive system that rewards Canadians “for making greener choices.” That’s hardly an improvement.
Well, what about Carney’s proposal to eliminate Trudeau’s capital gains tax increase and support a middle class tax cut? It sounds positive, but he’s also planning to follow Trudeau’s lead and spend the taxpayers’ money like a drunken sailor. This reportedly includes running a deficit “to invest and grow” the Canadian economy, penalizing “high-polluting foreign imports,” doubling the amount of new housing construction over a decade and supporting retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. Same old story, alas.
The proof is in the pudding, ladies and gentlemen. Carney and Trudeau are virtually two sides of the same political coin, with only small differences at best.
With one notable exception. Carney, being more intelligent and capable than Trudeau, could potentially cause more damage to Canada’s political environment, economic engine and our way of life. That’s something all Canadians should be concerned about.
National Post