Mark Carney took a few days of vacation this week, in what must have been a much-welcomed break after a non-stop sprint since he first entered the Liberal leadership race in January.
But the pause didn’t last long. On Thursday, he was forced to respond to new threats from Donald Trump, who warned of even higher tariffs on Canadian goods starting August 1.
Next week won’t get easier. Carney is scheduled to meet with his cabinet to tackle everything from broadband policy and deep spending cuts to the next steps in U.S. negotiations, and decisions around which infrastructure projects to champion under his new fast-track legislation, Bill C-5.
Then on Thursday, he’ll face hundreds of First Nations leaders in a bid to assuage concerns over that same infrastructure law. And all the while, the clock will be ticking on a deal with Washington.
Still, Carney’s brief break this week offers a useful moment to take stock of how his government is faring against the three defining economic challenges of his administration:
- Reconciling growth in Canada’s oil and gas sector—and other resources—with the demands of the climate transition and Indigenous reconciliation.
- Resetting the economic relationship with the United States.
- Boosting capital investment across the economy to reverse Canada’s long decline in productivity.
Oil and gas: When’s the pushback?
There’s little question Carney has exceeded expectations on energy. He hasn’t just championed the sector rhetorically, but he’s pushed ahead quickly with legislation to accelerate major infrastructure projects.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive, even among Conservatives, who not only backed the fast-track legislation but whose supporters are now openly hoping their own party won’t stand in the way of this progress.
Yet the energy sector itself remains in a wait-and-see mode.
