Business
Poilievre Slams Carney’s Tariff Retreat
After promising to stand up to Trump, Carney folded after a phone call. Poilievre says the Prime Minister made “a very generous concession” without securing a single written commitment.
So after months of bragging that he was the only man in Canada tough enough to “handle Trump,” Mark Carney finally had his big moment. A phone call. That’s it. Not a summit. Not a negotiation. A phone call. And after that one conversation, he walked out to the cameras today and proudly announced that Canada is dropping its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods — no conditions, no written deal, not even a signed cocktail napkin.
And we’re supposed to clap.
Pierre Poilievre didn’t. He called it what it is: “a very generous concession by the Prime Minister without a single written commitment in exchange.” That’s not strength. That’s surrender. And it’s not even new. Poilievre laid it out clearly, Carney’s backed down on everything since taking office: dollar-for-dollar retaliation? Gone. Military spending? Backed down. Digital services tax? Watered down. And now, trade? Gutted.
And yet, Carney stands there pretending this is a win. Why? Because the Americans gave Canada the carve-out they gave everyone else. Meanwhile, Trump’s tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum are now 50 percent. Our tariffs? Still half that. Asked if he’ll match them, Carney said no. But yes — we’re supposed to believe he’s standing tall.
Here’s what Poilievre actually said: “American tariffs are now twice as high on Canada as they were when Carney took office.” That’s what this so-called strategy has delivered. Twice the pain. Zero gain.
And that line Carney keeps using that Canada has “the best deal in the world”? Poilievre shut it down. “That’s Brian Mulroney’s deal,” he said. Every tariff-free good going across the border today is because of NAFTA and the original Free Trade Agreement not Mark Carney. Carney didn’t negotiate one new tariff-free item. Not one. But he’s sure good at taking credit.
And here’s the real kicker. When asked what he would have done differently, Poilievre didn’t hedge. “I would have negotiated from strength,” he said. “You drop your tariffs, we drop ours.” That’s how normal countries operate. That’s how you protect your own workers. Instead, we’ve got a Prime Minister who flinches every time the U.S. blinks and then tells you it was a masterstroke.
But it gets worse. Trump’s hammering us with tariffs, and Carney is hammering our own industries with a carbon tax. This is Poilievre again: “Our workers are hit with Trump’s tariffs and Carney’s carbon tax.” That’s real. You know who doesn’t put a carbon tax on steel? Donald Trump. So now our factories are fighting a war on two fronts and one of them is being waged by their own government.
And what’s Carney building? Nothing. Literally nothing. “He hasn’t approved a single pipeline, nuclear, hydro, or LNG project,” Poilievre said. “Not one.” Instead, he’s created a new construction office which, in case you’re wondering, doesn’t build anything. It just talks about maybe building something. Some day. Possibly.
Carney also promised to double homebuilding. What’s actually happening? “CMHC projects it will drop by 13 percent,” Poilievre said. So that’s another promise, shattered on impact.
According to Poilievre, Carney didn’t just fail to deliver he made it worse. He said he’d “spend less and invest more.” In reality? “Spending is up eight percent, the deficit will double, and investment is down $60 billion — the biggest capital outflow in five months in Canadian history,” Poilievre said. So congratulations — you’ve now got less money, less investment, and a bigger hole.
And if you thought immigration enforcement was going well… no. Poilievre revealed the government lost track of 600 non-citizen criminals who were supposed to be deported. They’re still out there, somewhere, courtesy of Mark Carney.
And when asked about the case in Lindsay, Ontario a man being prosecuted for defending his home. Poilievre said what every sane person believes: “If someone breaks into your house, you have the right to stop them. If you don’t want to be harmed, don’t invade someone’s home.” Simple. Clear. Decent. Everything this government isn’t.
And Carney? The man who promised “elbows up”? Poilievre said it best: “He hasn’t thrown one elbow since he took office, except at Canadian workers.”
So what now? Poilievre actually offered him a way out. He said he’d support the Canadian Sovereignty Act, legislation already written, that would make Canada the fastest place in the world to get a pipeline built. He even told Carney, “Take the credit. I don’t care. Let’s get it done.”
That’s what leadership sounds like. But instead, we’ve got Mark Carney. A guy who hired a $6,000 PR firm to tell him how to talk to Donald Trump, then gave away Canada’s leverage after a single phone call and called it a win.
He didn’t throw an elbow. He dropped to his knees and judging by the grin on Trump’s face, he didn’t stop there.
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.”
From the Fraser Institute
By Jake Fuss and Grady Munro
The number of Canadians donating to charity—as a percentage of all tax filers—is at the lowest point in 20 years, finds a new study published by the
Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
“The holiday season is a time to reflect on charitable giving, and the data shows Canadians are consistently less charitable every year, which means charities face greater challenges to secure resources to help those in need,” said Jake Fuss, director of Fiscal Studies at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Generosity in Canada: The 2025 Generosity Index.
The study finds that the percentage of Canadian tax filers donating to charity during the 2023 tax year—just 16.8 per cent—is the lowest proportion of Canadians donating since at least 2003. Canadians’ generosity peaked at 25.4 per cent of tax-filers donating in 2004, before declining in subsequent years.
Nationally, the total amount donated to charity by Canadian tax filers has also fallen from 0.55 per cent of income in 2013 to 0.52 per cent of income in 2023.
The study finds that Manitoba had the highest percentage of tax filers that donated to charity among the provinces (18.7 per cent) during the 2023 tax year while New Brunswick had the lowest (14.4 per cent).
Likewise, Manitoba also donated the highest percentage of its aggregate income to charity among the provinces (0.71 per cent) while Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador donated the lowest (both 0.27 per cent).
“A smaller proportion of Canadians are donating to registered charities than what we saw in previous decades, and those who are donating are donating less,” said Fuss.
“This decline in generosity in Canada undoubtedly limits the ability of Canadian charities to improve the quality of life in their communities and beyond,” said Grady Munro, policy analyst and co-author.
Generosity of Canadian provinces and territories
Ranking (2025) % of tax filers who claiming donations Average of all charitable donations % of aggregate income donated
Manitoba 18.7 $2,855 0.71
Ontario 17.2 $2,816 0.58
Quebec 17.1 $1,194 0.27
Alberta 17.0 $3,622 0.68
Prince Edward Island 16.6 $1,936 0.45
Saskatchewan 16.4 $2,597 0.52
British Columbia 15.9 $3,299 0.61
Nova Scotia 15.3 $1,893 0.40
Newfoundland and Labrador 15.0 $1,333 0.27
New Brunswick 14.4 $2,076 0.44
Yukon 14.1 $2,180 0.27
Northwest Territories 10.2 $2,540 0.20
Nunavut 5.1 $2,884 0.15
NOTE: Table based on 2023 tax year, the most recent year of comparable data in Canada
Generosity in Canada: The 2025 Generosity Index
- Manitoba had the highest percentage of tax filers that donated to charity among the provinces (18.7%) during the 2023 tax year while New Brunswick had the lowest (14.4%).
- Manitoba also donated the highest percentage of its aggregate income to charity among the provinces (0.71%) while Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador donated the lowest (both 0.27%).
- Nationally, the percentage of Canadian tax filers donating to charity has fallen over the last decade from 21.9% in 2013 to 16.8% in 2023.
- The percentage of aggregate income donated to charity by Canadian tax filers has also decreased from 0.55% in 2013 to 0.52% in 2023.
- This decline in generosity in Canada undoubtedly limits the ability of Canadian charities to improve the quality of life in their communities and beyond.
Jake Fuss
Director, Fiscal Studies, Fraser Institute
Grady Munro
Policy Analyst, Fraser Institute
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