King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in Ottawa, Canada, on May 26 for a two-day visit to the nation’s capital. The king will address Canada’s parliament on May 27, an oration that will likely highlight the sovereign constitutional monarchy that will not transition to America’s 51st state. But while all the focus is on some people who do nothing all day, the public is missing out on some good old-fashioned backroom political shenanigans.
Liberals and the Political Mutiny?
Liberal Members of Parliament are ostensibly united in a common goal: The Great White North cannot have another Justin Trudeau on its hands.
According to Politico, Liberal lawmakers gathered to bolster their power to remove Prime Minister Mark Carney from the party’s leadership throne. While the news outlet offered readers a misleading title, “Canada’s Liberals are already thinking about how to remove Mark Carney. It’s not personal,” MPs are simply adopting measures found inside Canada’s Reform Act, a decade-old piece of legislation introduced by Conservative MP Michael Chong.
The Tories used it to kick out former leader Erin O’Toole. Because the Conservative Party presented this initiative, the Liberals refrained from utilizing it when Trudeaumania ravaged the Canadian economy, decimated household finances, and set the country back ten years. Now that it is out with the old and in with the new, the party might hope Canadians’ collective memory fades to black.
Quebec Liberal MP Sophie Chatel told the news outlet that this is “a powerful symbolic gesture” and “a renewed commitment to strengthening the relationship with caucus.” Carney acknowledged the vote, telling reporters he “observed that this will happen.”
Put simply, the Grits are not actively seeking to oust Carney – for now. Instead, they want to possess the option to remove the prime minister in the future should unfavorable conditions metastasize, and the party’s polling numbers tank again. However, considering what members of Carney’s party have said since the election, he might want to think about distancing himself from the Liberals.
Beginning of the End
Like the Toronto Maple Leafs’ playoff run, it was over before it started.
The prime minister won the 2025 election for two reasons: older voters hate President Donald Trump, and Carney convinced them that he would bring the public the change they needed. However, within days after being sworn in, the Liberals made Carney look terrible.
First, the former Bank of Canada and Bank of England chief promised to make the country an energy superpower. One strategy is constructing a pipeline that should have been done years ago, essentially caving to Alberta’s demands. Culture Minister Steven Guilbeault appeared to contradict the prime minister.
Speaking to reporters on May 14, the former environment minister seemed to pour cold water on the new pipeline idea, citing the years-long prognostication of peak oil demand. “So I think before we start talking about building an entire new pipeline, maybe we should maximize the use of existing infrastructure,” Guilbeault told the press. “And, the Canadian Energy Regulator, as well as the International Energy Agency, are telling us that probably by 2028-2029, demand for oil will peak globally, and it will also peak in Canada.”
Second, Carney has vowed to make housing affordability one of his top economic priorities. Indeed, the Canadian real estate market is one of the most expensive in the world, with the average price hovering around $700,000, up approximately 40% from before the coronavirus pandemic. Aside from Saskatchewan, every housing market has spiraled out of control, leaving millions of Canadians unable to achieve the dream of homeownership.
Economists and housing advocates generally concur that home prices need to fall to ensure middle-class households and young families can accomplish something Baby Boomers did decades ago. Yet, Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson says he does not think housing prices need to come down to restore housing affordability.
“I think that we need to deliver more supply, make sure the market is stable,” the former Vancouver mayor told the media on May 14. “It’s a huge part of our economy, but we need to be able to deliver more affordable housing.” He later doubled down on social media: “The question I answered was about reducing the price of a family’s current home, which for most Canadians, is their most valuable asset.”
It is true that Canada’s economy largely depends on real estate, accounting for as much as 50% of GDP growth in some quarters. Many senior Canadians are also relying on their home’s ATM to fund their retirement. However, if this were the dim reality, the Grits should have been forthright during the campaign about this plight and informed the next generation that they will never be able to purchase a residential property. This will be the case for years to come, anyway.
When the cats are away, the mice will play. Or, when the captain is gone, his seamen will accidentally commit mutiny. It is safe to say the prime minister was not expecting these remarks while he was in Rome for Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural mass. With allies like these, who needs enemies up north?
