Poilievre blasts Carney, Liberal economic record in Canadian Club speech

OTTAWA —

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says a new Liberal majority government means Prime Minister Mark Carney no longer has any excuse for failing to deliver on his economic promises.

Poilievre spoke to a business crowd at the Canadian Club Toronto on Thursday to lay out his vision for Canada’s economy.

He spent much of his time at the podium attacking Carney’s record.

“Mr. Carney has been wrong about every major economic issue of the last decade,” Poilievre told the crowd.

“The gap between Mr. Carney’s boasting and his results is perhaps unprecedented.”

Poilievre said in a recent interview that Carney, who holds degrees in economics from Harvard and Oxford, was “very badly educated” in the field.

He noted in his speech that the United Kingdom experienced stagnant growth when Carney was heading up the Bank of England — a seven-year span that included Brexit and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Poilievre also cited the former central banker’s past prediction that inflation would not surge as much as it did in the post-pandemic recovery.

Carney shot back at Poilievre’s comments about his education in question period Wednesday, saying he felt like was “in the presence of students” who wouldn’t pass an exam.

In his speech, Poilievre argued Canada is poorer, weaker and more expensive to live in after a year of Carney in power.

He said the Conservatives backed legislation to give the Liberals sweeping powers to rapidly build major projects in Canada — a reference to Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act, which became law in June of last year.

“How many projects has he approved since June with those new powers? Not one single new major project, not one oil pipeline, not one port, nothing,” Poilievre said.

The Conservative leader blamed Carney for failing to advance talks to build a pipeline to get Alberta oil to the British Columbia coast. Poilievre’s appearance at the Canadian Club was sponsored in part by energy giant Enbridge.

Carney said earlier this week Ottawa was making “good progress” in talks with Alberta on both specific projects and a framework for future investments in the province.

After nearly a year of minority government, the Liberals secured a majority mandate on Monday after sweeping a set of three byelections. Five MPs — four from the Conservatives and one former New Democrat — have also crossed the floor since last fall to bolster Liberal numbers in the House of Commons.

On Tuesday, Carney said the governing party will continue to collaborate with MPs of any stripe, and he expects more “substance” in Parliament now that the Liberals are able to dictate the agenda and pass legislation without the support of opposition parties.

In a moderated question-and-answer period after his speech, Poilievre was asked what he thinks will change on Parliament Hill after the Liberals secured a thin majority.

Poilievre downplayed the new dynamic and said the Conservatives had already given “incredible grace” to the government to pass legislation.

“He is the only thing standing in his own way, but now he doesn’t even have a rhetorical excuse and it’s going to be time for him to produce,” he said.

“I think it’s going to be time for him to deliver on all the very lofty promises he made in the last election, and we’ll be there to hold him to account on all of those things.”

In his speech, Poilievre cited a report released Wednesday by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business describing an “entrepreneurial drought” since early 2024, where more businesses are closing than opening.

Some 55 per cent of small business owners polled by the CFIB in October said they would not recommend opening a new business right now in Canada, the report said.

Poilievre also cited new estimates released by the Royal Bank of Canada this week that said more than $1 trillion in capital investment left Canada between 2015 and 2024.

To fix what he called a crumbling economy, the Conservative leader largely repeated his pledges to cut taxes and regulations and promised to get government out of the way of free enterprise.

“High costs, red tape, labour challenges and never-ending uncertainty discouraging the next generation of entrepreneurs stands in the way,” Poilievre said.

Poilievre also acknowledged Canada might sell less to the United States in the future because of President Donald Trump’s tariff regime but said Carney was wrong to suggest there had been a “permanent rupture” with the country’s biggest trading partner.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2026.

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press