During the spring campaign, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised a re-elected Liberal government led by him would move fast to solve problems and meet challenges by Canada Day.
After his victory, those promises left Carney a little more than 60 days to address issues that have bedevilled previous governments, in some cases, for a long time.
Here is a look at the pledges Carney made while he was courting the electorate, how he has done in addressing them and what comes next.
Eliminating internal federal trade barriers
After becoming prime minister, but before the election, Carney hosted a meeting with the premiers at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
The March 21 meeting was focused on one dominant theme: responding to the existential and political threat presented by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Carney told reporters he would address that challenge by tackling the long-standing issue of Canada’s internal trade barriers — some economists have said removing them could boost Canada’s economy by $200 billion annually.
“We intend, from a federal level, to have free trade by Canada day,” Carney said.
In his first meeting with Canada’s premiers, Prime Minister Mark Carney pushed for expanding free trade within Canada and major investment in east-west pipelines to further insulate the economy from reliance on the U.S amid the escalating trade war.
The prime minister specified “from a federal level” because most of Canada’s internal trade barriers are restrictions that only the provinces can remove.
Some have begun that process already, with Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and P.E.I. signing agreements or working with other provinces to remove barriers.
Carney’s promise to have “free trade by Canada Day” changed slightly by the time the party’s platform was released April 19.
It said a Carney-led government would simply “unleash free trade in Canada by Canada Day by tabling legislation to eliminate all federal barriers to interprovincial trade and labour mobility and to remove all federal exceptions under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement.”
Bill C-5, which passed Parliament on Thursday, will do just that.
Verdict: Promise kept
Cutting taxes
On the tax front, Carney promised to make Canada more affordable by cancelling the carbon tax, cutting income tax and eliminating the GST for first-time homebuyers on properties under $1 million.
In the first few hours of becoming prime minister March 14, Carney signed a prime ministerial directive removing the consumer price on carbon, a policy change that took effect April 1.
The pledge to cut the bottom rate of income tax by one percentage point, a 6.6 per cent cut to the amount of tax paid in that bracket, came with the promise it would take effect by Canada Day.
All three measures were included in a ways and means motion that passed the House of Commons on June 5. The motion allows the government to start making changes to the tax code before they are in law — but a bill will still need to be passed.
The bill containing the new measures, C-4, was introduced to the House of Commons in May and passed second reading June 12.
Verdict: Promise kept
Joining ReArm Europe
Carney said that since becoming prime minister, his government has been talking to the European Union about joining its rearmament plan, ReArm Europe, in order to change how Canada supplies its military.
“Seventy-five cents of every dollar of capital spending for defence goes to the United States. That’s not smart,” Carney told CBC’s Power & Politics host David Cochrane on May 27.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said during a one-on-one interview with Power & Politics host David Cochrane on Tuesday that he’s been having ‘conversations of increasing specificity’ with major European partners about Canada being part of a build-out of their defence industrial base. Carney said he wants to see ‘something concrete there’ by Canada Day.
In that same interview Carney also said he wanted to “see something concrete” on that front by Canada Day.
After meeting with EU leaders June 23, Carney announced he had signed a strategic defence and security partnership agreement with the union.
While it’s progress, it’s not perfection. The agreement is more of a framework for how Canada will eventually be able to participate in ReArm Europe.
The agreement signed June 23 will also help Canada join the SAFE loan program with other allied nations to buy military equipment.
Verdict: It’s a step toward the door, but not through it.
Cutting red tape
The Liberal election platform promised to “reduce red tape” by requiring all federal departments to take steps to eliminate “outdated or unnecessary rules, reduce duplication or overlap with provincial rules and streamline the administration of rules and the delivery of regulatory decisions.”
The platform says departments are supposed to undertake these reviews “within 60 days” and report on what progress has been made.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said that process is being overseen by the Treasury Board which told CBC News that it is “preparing to launch the formal 60-day review process” and that there will be details to share “shortly.”
The platform does not specifically say within 60 days of winning the election, but the term “within 60 days” could be taken to mean exactly that. It could also just mean the PMO wants the reviews to take 60 days once they are eventually launched.
Verdict: Ambiguous wording leaves this one in limbo.
What comes next
The list of challenges and promises Carney must address next are long and varied. Here is a look at some that will continue to make headlines in the months ahead.
Striking a deal with Trump on tariffs: During the G7 summit, Carney and Trump agreed to negotiate toward a trade deal “within the coming 30 days.” Carney made that announcement June 16.
Passing Bill C-4: While the tax measures in C-4 have been adopted, the legislation still has to pass through Parliament.
Passing Bill C-2: The Liberal government’s Strong Borders Act would give increased powers to Canada’s security and intelligence services, expand the ability to open and inspect mail and allow officials to cancel or suspend immigration documents. Critics of the bill say it violates privacy. The Liberals will have to manage those concerns if they want this bill, currently in second reading, to become law.
Passing Bill C-8: The Liberals’ Critical Cyber Systems Protection Act is a reintroduction of Bill C-26 that died when former prime minister Justin Trudeau prorogued Parliament. C-8 passed first reading in the House June 18.
Passing Bill C-3: Introduced to the House of Commons June 5, the “lost Canadians” bill is also a reintroduction of a previous bill. The legislation responds to a 2023 Ontario Superior Court ruling that declared it unconstitutional to deny citizenship to people born outside of Canada before their parents obtained citizenship. It is in second reading in the House.
