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TERRAZZANO: Will Carney or Poilievre be first leader to oppose MP pay raises? 

Both leaders will have to choose quickly because one lone MP broke Parliament’s pay-raise solidarity.

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Every year, members of Parliament give themselves a pay raise on April 1.  Every year, about 80% of Canadians oppose it.

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How do these politicians get away with it?

TERRAZZANO: Will Carney or Poilievre be first leader to oppose MP pay raises?  Back to video

They’ve all stuck together. People idealistically call for more unity in politics. Interestingly, the one thing most likely to get support from all sides is a pay raise.

But that all changed because courageous MP Mike Dawson, who publicly rejected this year’s raise before all MPs could stay quiet.

Now, everyone is looking to see what Prime Minister Mark Carney and Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre will do.

One leader will get the credit for leading the way to sacrifice their own pay. The other leader will be reduced to the role of reluctant follower. But both leaders will have to choose quickly because one lone MP broke Parliament’s pay-raise solidarity.

Poilievre has most to lose

Dawson is the first MP to publicly oppose the raise. He instructed the government to “make the necessary arrangements with the payroll and benefits administration,” so he wouldn’t receive a raise.

For context, backbench MPs will receive a $218,600 annual salary after the April 1 raise. A minister will collect $322,700 and Carney will take $437,200.

“At a time when everyday Canadians are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living, I cannot in good conscience accept the pay increase of nearly $10,000 which every member of Parliament is set to receive,” Dawson wrote. “It is frankly distasteful that Parliamentarians are set to receive a raise while the working man and woman in this country haven’t seen a decent raise in decades.”

Dawson is a Conservative MP, and Poilievre has the most to lose from not publicly and forcefully opposing the raise.

Poilievre may ruffle feathers with those in caucus who want the extra cash. But Poilievre will suffer a loss to his credibility if Carney beats him to the punch.

After all, Poilievre built his brand as being the outsider’s insider. His brand is being the guy who stands up for taxpayers against Ottawa’s high-taxing and big-spending politicians. He loses a lot if he looks like he’s just another politician.

“I’ve been Parliament’s leading voice for taxpayers,” Poilievre said on the Canadian Taxpayers Podcast. “I think that consistent commitment to leave more dollars in the hands of people who earned it and less in the hands of politicians who tax it, is the overriding theme of my career, and I would continue fighting for it.”

Poilievre has a decision to make. Does he maintain the credibility and brand he built over decades and stand with millions of taxpayers and Dawson?

It’s almost inconceivable that he won’t. Because if he stays silent, it’ll be harder to convince people he’s truly different. And that means there’s an opportunity for the prime minister.

Carney could end MP pay raise

Unlike the previous Liberal prime minister, it’s conceivable that Carney could cancel the raise.

Carney’s biggest political vulnerability is that he’s a rich banker who doesn’t understand the struggles facing normal people. Poilievre previously published a video pointing out that “Carney couldn’t answer what a week’s worth of groceries cost.”

Carney doesn’t want to look like he’s just another politician and he’s made it clear he’s willing to change direction.

Carney ended the Liberals’ consumer carbon tax. Carney ended the Liberals’ capital gains tax hike. And Carney recently retreated from the Liberals’ outright ban on the sale of new gas and diesel vehicles.

Carney could end the MP pay raise before Poilievre speaks out against it. That would strengthen Carney’s biggest political weakness and strike a blow to Poilievre’s biggest political strength.

For years, all MPs have continued to take pay raises because they knew if they all stayed silent, they would get away with it. But the first domino fell, thanks to Dawson’s courage.

Now the question is: Who will be the first political party leader to forcefully and publicly oppose the MP pay raise?

Franco Terrazzano is the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation 

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