Carney’s latest promise sounds eerily familiar—and dangerous

Canadians have heard a tale of a "new" economy before. That story didn't end well.

Yesterday, in response to the United States administration's imposition of sweeping new global tariffs, at a press conference Liberal leader Mark Carney declared, "Above all, we will build a new Canadian economy." This remark followed an earlier statement in February in which he framed the American tariffs as "an opportunity" for Canada's economy.

To struggling Canadian industry leaders and workers—already burdened by years of rising inflation, regulatory overreach, and crushing taxation under successive Liberal governments—Carney's words likely felt less like optimism and more like out-of-touch gaucherie. But beyond frustration, Carney's proclamations of "opportunity" in a "new economy" probably stirred something else: an uneasy sense of déjà vu.

That's because Mark Carney has said the exact same thing before, at a similar juncture of economic precariousness.

Carney's "opportunity" for a "new Canadian economy" rhetoric is nearly identical to the language he used to push a set of economy crushing policies in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then serving as the UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance, a pandemic-economic advisor to the Trudeau government, and vice-chair of ESG investing at Brookfield Asset Management, in 2020, Carney framed the pandemic's economic upheaval as a path to remake the global economy by repackaging a collection of proven-to-fail socialist policies from an assortment of far-left, pro-interventionist think tanks. In June of that year, he co-authored a Guardian article urging governments to use the pandemic as an "opportunity"to build a "sustainable, competitive new economy." This call echoed the World Economic Forum's 2020 "Great Reset"vision—a far-left blueprint Carney publicly endorsed and is often credited for helping to drive. These concepts were also the premise of his 2021 book.

Fast forward five years to today. Rather than ushering in the utopian high-growth "new" economy he sold, the policies Carney personally championed during the pandemic have clearly had the opposite effect in Canada. The practices of massive deficit spending, aggressive pivot away from traditional energy, and mass immigration that Carney supported via dusting off socialist-era thinking have all contributed to Canada's current economic malaise. Persistent inflation, a housing crisis, significantly diminished energy sovereignty and deepened dependence on the United States are a direct result of the implementation of his so-called“new” economy policies. So if the ballot-box question in this federal election is which leader is best equipped to reignite Canada's economy in the face of hostile U.S. trade policy and years of domestic mismanagement, Carney's record and new promises of a "new" economy offer little reassurance.

Rather, they should raise serious concerns. And Carney, in his short, weeks-long tenure as a politician, has done little to suggest he has even acknowledged that his "new" post-pandemic policies failed, let alone that he's abandoned his adherence to them. In fact, his campaign announcements suggest he's leaning into them. And that's a big problem - here's why.

For starters, most of the "new" post-pandemic economic policies Carney promoted - like those outlined in the World Economic Forum's "Great Reset" - weren't aimed at strengthening Canada's domestic economy. Rather, they reflect a globalist worldview that largely overlooks the practical energy needs traditional energy still fulfills in driving growth across advanced economies. In the midst of a highly unstable geopolitical climate, these policies are at odds with building a sovereign Canadian identity defended by a strong Canadian economy.

Proof of that fact can be found in the outcome of Carney's deep involvement in shaping Canada's pandemic-era economic response. Appointed as a pandemic-economic advisor to the Prime Minister in 2020, Carney's definition of building a "new" post-pandemic economy back then meant prioritizing policies that involved massive government intervention. But while green subsidies and stimulus spending advocated for by Carney proliferated, domestic productivity and affordability lagged, and dependence on other economies (like the U.S.) increased. Canada's per capita GDP has shrunk annually—the worst performance among advanced economies. Inflation raged too - in spite of a statement made by Carney in late 2020 that outright dismissed concerns that high levels of pandemic deficit spending would create inflationary pressure at all.

In spite of these realities, Carney is still advocating for the same "new economy" policies he promoted during the COVID pandemic. During the campaign thus far, he has committed to numerous new direct spending initiatives without giving any indication that he would reign in spending elsewhere. He's still advocating for increased carbon taxation on critical sectors like steel and espousing a "new economy" net-zero ideology. On that front, he hasn't learned from his failed leadership of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). Earlier this year, that net-zero financial coalition - long espoused by Carney as the path to a "new" type of global economy - unravelled, having accomplished little beyond providing political cover for left-wing Western governments like Canada's to continue intentionally stymying the development of their traditional energy resources and doling out billions to corporations for so-called "new economy green investments."

There's further evidence that Carney's threatened "new" economy would look a lot like the one he advocated for during his post-pandemic “Great Reset" days, too. Last week, Carney confirmed that he would keep enforcing controversial Bill-69, colloquially called the "No More Pipelines Act." This continued opposition to expanding Canada's pipeline infrastructure reinforces Carney's reputation for being a rigid ideologue when it comes to energy policy at a time when diversification of export markets for Canadian traditional energy is sorely needed. His long-standing resistance to critical pipeline projects like Northern Gateway, as expressed in 2021 parliamentary testimony, positions him squarely at odds with the infrastructure resilience Canada urgently needs in the face of U.S. trade volatility.

So it would seem Mr. Carney's version of a "new" Canadian economy is the same set of policies he pushed post-COVID, hidden from scrutiny in a short election campaign.

The great irony of all of this is that Carney personally benefited from helping to position multi-billion dollar companies like Brookfield (which he chaired until a few short weeks ago) to profit off the failure of the same “new economy” policies that he advocated for - and that left the Canadian economy in its present weak and exposed state. Perhaps that why he’s still trying to trick Canadians into thinking more of the same will lead to a better outcome.

But Canadians have seen his "new economy" movie before and are still paying the price of admission.

They would be wise to reject a repeat performance before déjà vu devolves further into disaster.