National
Canada Needs an Alternative to Carney’s One Man Show
When the Carney government’s honeymoon is over, and its missteps on a variety of fronts become more evident, the search will begin in earnest for “alternatives”. Looking ahead, what might such alternatives be?
On the fiscal front, the recent federal budget gets off on the wrong foot by attributing Canada’s economic woes to major global events and Trump’s tariffs, without in any way acknowledging the consequences of a decade of mismanagement by the Trudeau regime. The budget also still contains references to Net Zero on the climate change front, a Carney fixation. What an alternative budget might look like is a discussion for the weeks ahead, but it might begin by calling for a federal commitment to an alternative Net Zero: Federal Expenditures Minus Federal Revenues to Equal Zero by 2030.
Balancing the federal budget will require a major downsizing of the massive federal bureaucracy. But the downsizing method chosen by the Carney government is an old and unimaginative approach which simply doesn’t work – charging the bureaucracy itself to define and implement its own downsizing[1]. The alternative? Establishing a completely independent outside agency to tackle the task – an improved Canadianized version of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) or its UK version as being developed by Reform UK.
On the economic front and the need for industrial projects to stimulate an economic recovery, the Carney government predictably puts its faith in its own ability to pick winners and losers, and in a government-run Major Projects Office to guide the winners. A better alternative? Issue a Request for Proposals from the private sector leaders of Canada’s key industrial sectors – especially those in the natural resource sectors which are Canada’s greatest strength – to identify what the market place and the investment community, not politicians and bureaucrats, believe to be the most stimulative and urgently required projects and the conditions for advancing them. Not surprisingly, one of the main conditions will likely be for an over-regulating over-taxing federal government to “get out of the way”.
On the national unity front, federal-provincial relations are being strained to the breaking point by major federal intrusions in areas of provincial jurisdiction, fueling secessions movements in both Quebec and western Canada. The alternative? A federal Act Respecting Provincial Sovereignty which repeals or amends those statutes authorizing such intrusions in areas the constitution clearly assigns to the provinces – natural resources, health, municipal governance, property and civil rights – to eliminate or reduce federal intrusiveness. Insist also that both levels of government “stay in their lanes”, with the federal government focusing on improving its performance in those areas where no one disputes its jurisdiction or responsibility – foreign affairs, trade and commerce, indigenous affairs, defense, and monetary policy.
Then there is the tariff front where US tariffs and Canada’s erratic and ineffective responses are raising prices and killing jobs, as tariff wars always do, while seriously damaging Canada-US relations. Mr. Carney’s approach has been to first impose counter-tariffs and then withdraw them – elbows up then elbows down – while engaging sporadically in high-level elite-to-elite talks in Washington.
The alternative? Be advised, and be accompanied to Washington, by deal-making representatives of the sectors which the US most needs to become energy self-sufficient – one of Trump’s main objectives. Begin to seek the support of Trump’s constituency for tariff-modification policies – on Main Street not Wall street and in Middle not Washington America – the people Trump must listen to in order to satisfy and maintain his political base. Communicate with that constituency through the independent US media and the Rogan-Carlson-Shapiro media that Trump’s constituency talks and listens to. And begin to ally Canadians more closely with American friends and associates seeking to ensure that more tariff-modifying Republicans are elected to the US Congress in the 2026 Congressional elections.
On the leadership front, more and more Canadians are becoming disillusioned with the “one man show” style of political leadership – first from Justin Trudeau and now Mark Carney – self-absorbed politicians who want to be “the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral, just as long as all eyes are upon them”.
The Budget is the Carney Budget, with Finance Minister Champagne merely the budget speech reader. It is Mr. Carney who goes to Washington and gets the photo ops, with Minister LeBlanc, listed as the Minister Responsible for Canada-US Trade, merely carrying the suitcases. It is Mr. Carney who announces the Big Projects and must even participate in the Grey Cup coin toss, notwithstanding the boos of the crowd who came to watch football not political posturing.
The Alternative? A visible, competent Leadership Team at the federal level, with the PM as the captain but visibly surrounded by strong, regional, and sectoral lieutenants with executive experience – Mackenize King’s War Cabinet a possible model to emulate.
Finally, a key question – who will forcefully and effectively represent these alternatives in the federal political arena? Could it be the current Leader of the Official Opposition? If in the days ahead, he were to become more than the Leader of the Opposition but Leader of the Official Alternative, could he not yet become the Leader of the Alternative Government Canada so desperately needs?
[1] The Comprehensive Expenditure Review described in the recent federal budget asked “federal departments and agencies” to conduct a thorough review of their own organizations, programs, and activities – subject to numerous politically motivated limitations – and under the ultimate supervision of politicians – a Cabinet Committee and the Prime Minister. (Budget 2025, page207)
It’s a big day for the Who’s of Whoville. Mayor Augustus Maywho is now polling at 62 percent approval. Cindy Lou Who and Martha May Whovier can barely contain their trans-loving heart that finally the Pierre The Grinch is done.
Okay it’s not WhoVille. It’s Canada and it is leader Mark Carney who’s zooming in the polls against Pierre Poilievre. But it might as well be the real nation that Carney commands today. As 2025 comes to a conclusion Donald Trump seems the least of Whoville’s perils. For example:
The NDP government in B.C. has now declared that future legislation must be interpreted through the lens of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. According to Chief Bent Knee (David Eby) this means that the province cannot act independently of the progressive diktats of Sudan, Nepal, Moldova and other international titans. Having been informed of Canada’s “genocidal” behaviour by Trudeau in the Rez Graves pantomime, the UN folk will no doubt look on Canadians as worthy of punishment.
The UNDRIP menace has been around since the days when Skippy Trudeau was wielding the mace in Parliament. On June 20, 2021 the federal government passed UNDRIP into law by a vote of 210 to 118. (The Liberals, NDP and Bloc all voted in favour.) The only party that opposed it were the Conservatives. In defence of those hapless boobs none of them voting yes ever expected a province to align itself with such legislation. That’s the Canadian way. Act on conscience. Retract on self preservation.
But on the heels of Eby’s unopposed capitulation to B.C.’s many “peoples” in recent land settlements, ones that threaten the legal right to properties of home owners, the wholesale framework for governing the province now will be determined by appeal to the UN.
The Carney crew — who act as though Canada’s indigenous communities are now equal partners in Confederation— assure Canadians that judicious lawyering by government savants has everything under control, but anyone trusting the Liberals after the past decade is in need of counselling.
The B.C. conundrum plays into another of the challenges (read: disasters) faced in B.C. by the Elbows Up brigade. Namely the much-heralded memorandum of understanding on energy policy between the feds and Alberta. Canadians were assured by Ottawa that this federal government sees pipelines as a priority, and getting Alberta’s product to tidewater as an urgent infrastructure need. Carney described the MOU as if it were a love-letter to the restless West. How is he going to get pipelines through to the B.C. coast when Eby and the indigenous said it was a no-go? Trust us, said Carney.
Before you could say Wetaskiwin dark clouds gathered on the deal. Smith took it in the ear from Alberta separatists for compromising anything to the feds. Carney, meanwhile, ran into the predictable roadblock from B.C. Eby talked of maybe allowing pipelines in the future, but the ban on shipping off the province’s shoreline was verboten.
To test the resilience of the MOU the federal Conservatives (remember them?) put forward a motion to build the pipeline from Alberta to the B.C. coast. Even though the motion used the same language of the MOU between Danielle Smith and Mark Carney, the Liberals and their hand maidens defeated the motion. Carney himself abstained because, hey look at that shiny object.
Immediately the Trudeaupian Deflection Shield was employed. Here’s Liberal Indigenous Service minister and proud Cree operative Mandy Gull Masty “Today’s motion that’s being put on the floor is not a no vote for the MOU. It’s a no vote against the Conservatives playing games and creating optics and wasting parliamentary time when they should be voting on things that are way more important.”
Robert Fife, the highly rated G&M scribbler who just won some big award, led the media pack, “Conservatives persist with cute legislative tricks, while the government tries to run a country.” Run a country? Into the ground?
Let’s not forget the $1.5 billion bloviators at CBC. They, too, say the vote is a big loss for the Tories. “It risks putting them offside, what is a very top priority and frankly, was considered a big win for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.’” said Janyce McGregor. Here’s Martin Patriquin on one of the Ceeb’s endless panels. “It’s embarrassing, man. I don’t see any sort of political advantage to what happened today.”
Embarrassing? The Libs have committed to re-building gas pipelines in Ukraine, even as they stall on developing pipelines in Canada. Luckily CBC washrooms have no mirrors. And there’s always Donald Trump to deflect from the pantomimes of Canadians Laurentian debating club.
Here, CTV hair-and-teeth Scott Reid is nursing a Reuters poll that has Trump’s approval at historic lows of 36 percent. Reuters is a firm that predicted Kamala winning the presidency. Until she didn’t on Nov.4. Meanwhile Rasmussen, which correctly had Trump ahead the entire campaign, has his current approval at 44 percent while the RCP average is 43.9.
But corrupt data to make Trump seem odious is no sin in WhoVille Ottawa. Keep feeding the Karens bad data. At least Canadians have their beloved healthcare to fall back on. Or maybe their beloved MAID. A Saskatchewan woman suffering from parathyroid disease has revealed that she is considering assisted suicide, because she cannot get the surgery she needs.
“Jolene Van Alstine, from Saskatchewan, has extreme bone pain, nausea and vomiting. She requires surgery to remove a remaining parathyroid, but no surgeons in the province are able to perform the operation. In order to be referred to another province for the operation, Van Alstine must first be seen by an endocrinologist, yet no Saskatchewan endocrinologists are currently accepting new patients.
The pain has become so unbearable that she has been approved for Canada’s euthanasia and assisted suicide program, with the ending of her life scheduled to take place on 7 January 2026.”
Well. Happy New Year, Canada. May no one offer you MAID in the next twelve months.
Bruce Dowbiggin @dowbboy is the editor of Not The Public Broadcaster A two-time winner of the Gemini Award as Canada’s top television sports broadcaster, his new book Deal With It: The Trades That Stunned The NHL And Changed hockey is now available on Amazon. Inexact Science: The Six Most Compelling Draft Years In NHL History, his previous book with his son Evan, was voted the seventh-best professional hockey book of all time by bookauthority.org . His 2004 book Money Players was voted sixth best on the same list, and is available via brucedowbigginbooks.ca.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the federal, Ontario and municipal governments to publicly reject subsidizing a new arena for the Ottawa Senators.
“Politicians need to stand up for taxpayers and tell the Ottawa Senators’ lobbyists NO,” said Noah Jarvis, CTF Ontario Director. “Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe all need to publicly reject giving taxpayers’ money to the owners of the Ottawa Senators.”
The Ottawa Citizen recently reported that “the Ottawa Senators have a team off the ice lobbying federal and provincial governments for funds to help pay the hefty price tag for a new arena.”
The Ottawa Senators said they don’t intend on asking the city of Ottawa for taxpayer dollars. However, the Ottawa Citizen reported that “it’s believed Senators’ owner Michael Andlauer would like a similar structure to the [Calgary] arena deal.” The Calgary arena deal included municipal subsidies.
As of December 2024, the Ottawa Senators were worth just under $1.2 billion, according to Forbes.
Meanwhile, both the federal and Ontario governments are deep in debt. The federal debt will reach $1.35 trillion by the end of the year. The Ontario government is $459 billion in debt. The city of Ottawa is proposing a 3.75 per cent property tax increase in 2026.
“Governments are up to their eyeballs in debt and taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to fund a brand-new fancy arena for a professional sports team,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “If the owners of the Ottawa Senators want to build a fancy new arena, then they should be forced to fund it with ticket sales not tax hikes.”
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