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Michael Higgins: Beware an unchecked Mark Carney

The prime minister has secured his long-sought-after majority, but the consequences could be dire for Canadians

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The temptation for Prime Minister Mark Carney to secure a majority government, even a slim one cobbled together with disgruntled floor-crossers, is strong, because it will give him the power to do as he pleases. If the constraints of a minority government are eliminated, the danger is that Carney will forget that the Liberals were elected with only 43.8 per cent of the vote and begin to govern as if the whole country was behind him.

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He is certainly on a roll. He has wrapped himself in unapologetic patriotism, poked fun at U.S. President Donald Trump and heralded a new age for Canada. “We are masters of our destiny,” Carney said at the Liberal convention on Saturday.

Michael Higgins: Beware an unchecked Mark Carney Back to video

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Some have suggested that Carney is regarded as a wartime leader rallying the country behind a unity government. But Carney should take note of a line from his own book, “Value(s)”: “Humility is recognizing that there will be surprises.”

The Liberals won all three byelections Monday. Votes were held in in University—Rosedale, former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland’s old riding, Scarborough Southwest, where ex-defence minister Bill Blair sat, and the Quebec riding of Terrebonne. That last riding was won by the Liberals by just one vote in 2025, a result that was contested and the Supreme Court ordered a redo.

With 174 seats, the Liberals will not have to rely on the Speaker’s vote.

This is a remarkable achievement for Carney. His predecessor, Justin Trudeau, won a majority in 2015 on glib words and glamorous looks, but was never able to achieve that success again.

In 2025, Carney was also shut out of a majority. But since November, the prime minister has managed to entice five MPs from other parties — four Conservatives and one NDP — to cross the floor and join his caucus.

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Scott Reid, the former communications director to ex-Liberal prime minister Paul Martin, told the Guardian that the Trump effect has been driving Carney’s success.

“Trump gave rise to Carney and his unique talents,” Reid told the British newspaper. “Now, we’re watching another effect of Trump on our politics: a desire for stability. The perception is Carney is a wartime leader. And in so many respects, what we’re watching is the quietest assembly of a union government we’ve ever witnessed.”

A wartime leader suggests the whole country is behind Carney, which is not the case, although his anti-Trump rhetoric and jibes at the U.S. president are always greeted with howls of glee from the faithful.

On Saturday, Carney highlighted how great it was that Canadians were boycotting all things American.

“Canadians are demonstrating just how strong we are. It started quietly, people choosing a wine from the Okanagan over one from California. Anyone had any bourbon recently? A family planning a vacation to Prince Edward Island instead of booking flights to Florida. Canadians are rediscovering our country,” he said.

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It’s great that more Canadians are discovering how marvellous this country is, but forgoing a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Napa Valley is only going to hurt individual U.S. businesses, not change American policy.

Meanwhile, Carney’s new “Buy Canadian” policy smacks of protectionism. On Saturday, he pledged that federal procurement would go to select Canadian suppliers by default. That may be a value statement, but it’s unlikely to result in value for money.

He also said, “The days of our military sending 70 cents of every dollar to the United States are over.” But the reality is that the Liberals are unlikely to follow the Canadian wine boycott example and start rejecting U.S. military deals.

Last March, Carney ordered a review of the purchase of 88 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force’s obsolete CF-18s. The CBC reported recently that the Liberal government had started to make payments on 14 F-35s, in addition to the 16 that have already been ordered.

Some have seen this as a signal that Ottawa is going ahead with the purchase, although the National Post’s John Ivison reported that the government is considering buying only half of the F-35s, with the rest being replaced by Swedish Gripens.

If Carney decides not to purchase all the F-35s, expect Trump to go ballistic and the trade war to escalate.

It is in decisions such as these that the prime minister may believe that he has total control and, buoyed by a majority government and an aggressive anti-American mood in the country, that he has a mandate to do as he wills.

He should beware. His “masters of our destiny” line echoes the Victorian poem “Invictus”: “I am the master of my fate/I am the captain of my soul.”

The poem speaks of courage and resilience in adversity, which is why Carney channelled it. But as the prime minister grows ever stronger, he should recognize that those virtues can be tainted by power and become recklessness and stubbornness.

The result of that — not surprisingly — is hubris.

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