— Feature, Musings —03.18.2025 10:52 AM
My latest: will the real Mark/Pierre please stand up?
What are they really like?
When you are a political staffer – like this writer was, back in the Palaeolithic Era – you get that question a lot. People find out that you work for a notable politician, and they want to know the real deal: what is he/she like when the microphones and cameras are tucked away?
Mark Carney first.
On Monday, the newly-minted Liberal leader was asked totally legitimate questions about his “blind trust” by the CBC’s Rosemary Barton and the Globe’s Stephanie Levitz. Barton and Levitz essentially wanted to know why Carney didn’t disclose his financial holdings when he could have.
Levitz went first, querying Carney about the whereabouts of his millions. Carney’s response: “What possible conflict would you have, Stephanie?…Point final.”
Get that? “Point final.” That’s kind of the English equivalent of saying, in French, “This discussion is over, child.”
Barton wasn’t deterred by that. She said it “was very difficult to believe” Carney could have no possible conflicts of interest. At that point, Carney’s patrician mask fully slipped. “Look inside yourself, Rosemary,” he actually said. You are “trying to invent new rules,” he snapped at her. You are acting with “ill will,” he barked at the CBC veteran broadcaster.
Well, no. She was just doing her job. But in those few seconds, Carney revealed himself to be arrogant, pompous, evasive and condescending. He looked terrible; all that was missing was him gnawing at an apple.
[To read more, subscribe here]
Thank you for pointing this out.
Really nice story about Harper. That is what people who knew him personally said about him to me.
Shocked, that Carney’s media-training team hadn’t prepped him on such a question.
He’ll be stronger, the next time such a question is lobbed his way.
Yesterday’s exchange, great content for the Conservative war room.
Can they get traction off of such a misstep?
Douglas,
Rosie has redeemed herself with this one. The Elitist’sElitistTM is showing himself to be an asshole. I hope people draw the appropriate conclusions from that. This guy hasn’t even been PM for a week and he’s already showing his true colours, which are less than flattering. If he had talked to me like that I would have summarily told him to Fuck Off, Prime Minister!
Ronald,
Yesterday’s episode means Carney’s events (in the future) will be tightly scripted.
It’s the only way to avoid anything that is remotely damaging.
Another PM who is anything but PM material.
Kyrie eleison
Douglas,
Absolutely. But this guy hasn’t got the Trudeau name, cachet or mystique. He’s in big trouble now.
His attempt to change the script to Pierre’s security clearance actually looked pathetic. If that is the best that Butts can do, we have a chance.
The only reason Poilievre won’t get a security clearance is because he wants to disseminate disinformation and conspiracy theory – he has no interest in reality, his base is consumed by loopy conspiracy theories and he wants to feed them to fundraise and excite them to vote – all about politics and no concern for the country.
Martin,
Butts is more talented than that. Now let me see, who could have come up with that? Oh yes… LOL.
What are you talking about Curious?
Carney is showing his true self and it will continue. This election will be a disaster for him as soon as he comes under the constant spotlight and pressure of the election. He is not good at thinking on his feet and angers easy. He is terrible in a press conference speaking French and not much better in English. Get your popcorn. It’s gonna be a real slasher flick.
John,
I’m coming along to this view of the world. We in the CPC have to prepare an attitude reel based on his comments and run it with GUSTO on television, radio, and the internet daily during the election campaign. This truly is a gift from God.
Wow, taking a stroll on X today and the Tru-anons(or whatever we should start calling them now) really have basically lost their Borg Collective mind over that presser yesterday. I see Andy Coyne on brand though. Fortunately resistance is not futile.
Like I said before, Carney has to do some media training and come up with clear answers, or talking points to deal with his assets – what’s the big deal? Smile, joke around a bit – He has experience and he made a lot of money – so what?
Because 10 seconds ag0 in the US, it mattered to folks like you HOW one made the money. Again, Trump had business experience too. Did that make him more or less qualified to be president or was it just not relevant. I’ll wait.
Curious,
This is way beyond rich: every time Liberals comment on Pierre, at minimum, they imply that he’s an asshole but when their guy shows himself to be a dickhead, well no problem there. Everything is still hunky-dory.
As I keep saying, everything has flipped. Isn’t anyone old enough to remember when the term “blind trust” was basically a punchline for the left:
“Doonesbury has angered, irritated, or been rebuked by many of the political figures that have appeared or been referred to in the strip over the years. A 1984 series of strips showing Vice President George H. W. Bush placing his manhood in a blind trust—in parody of Bush’s use of that financial instrument to fend off concerns that his governmental decisions would be influenced by his investment holdings”
https://www.gocomics.com/doonesbury/1984/10/30
For Carney, this is the reality of someone who hasn’t ever really been challenged in the public eye, in any meaningful way. If he can’t muster a diplomatic answer before the semi-friendly Liberal-leaning media, he is going to implode when facing questions during a debate or during questioning from less-friendly media outlets.
What he is doing now is a version of Donald Trump’s approach to media questions he doesn’t like. Maybe the Conservatives will run that as their own “He is like Trump” advertising.
Hey Pedant,
Next time you talk to Pierre, remind him to purchase in a New York minute the Forbes comprehensive analysis and report on Carney’s wealth. And then use it every single day in the campaign all the way to election night. You see people are a funny thing: their body language and spontaneous reaction to a perceived threat says a lot more about what’s really going on than anything else. Carney knows his finances mean big political trouble for the Liberals. So, set a fire under his ass and be quick about it. Once we have the report, ram that sucker home with relish!
Ha. I *wish* I had a direct line to the CPC war room.
Warren,
From The National Post:
“Carney admits to potential conflicts of interest with Brookfield, expects ethics screen to apply”
I can already smell the blood in the water.
I would be more interested in what he did at Goldman Sachs. That is where he made his fortune. I have never been a fan of bankers and I literally have the receipts from dealing with them for almost 50 years. Doesn’t everyone have a banker story? The fact that the left has now blindly embraced one is even more stunning to me than when they embraced a guy based on a name and looks. At least in Justin’s case, you could hope for the best.
There is so much out there and even a Carney-barker should be able to find it easily. A couple more examples.
“The now famous Rolling Stone magazine article in 2009 by Matt Taibbi unforgettably referred to Goldman Sachs, the world’s most powerful investment bank, as a “great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.”
At the time, Taibbi was describing Goldman’s role in the 2008 financial crisis and the speculative bubble of mortgage-backed securities assets which later came crashing down.
The hits for the Great Vampire Squid keep on coming.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jakezamansky/2013/08/08/the-great-vampire-squid-keeps-on-sucking/
“And last summer, The New York Times described how Goldman Sachs was caught systematically delaying the delivery of metals out of a network of warehouses it owned in order to jack up rents and artificially boost prices.
You might not have been surprised that Goldman got caught scamming the world again, but it was certainly news to a lot of people that an investment bank with no industrial expertise, just five years removed from a federal bailout, stores and controls enough of America’s aluminum supply to affect world prices.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/the-vampire-squid-strikes-again-the-mega-banks-most-devious-scam-yet-101182/
Now I know it is likely too much to ask of folks to actually read an article that takes more than 30 seconds to absorb when in the middle of some sort of post orgiastic Carney swoon but one can hope. There is a reason the billionaire class are all in for him. They know he will continue to socialize all of their risk and the wealth shift will continue.
And Pierre puts all of his money in bitcoin – informed by youtube videos
What is your point? I thought he was nuts for touting it(he kind of didn’t) but I equally thought the Liberals were nuts for mocking him. At this point Pierre is getting the last laugh.
“Bitcoin is trading at roughly $16,500 US — nearly 75 per cent lower than its value in November 2021.
That means if you invested $10,000 in bitcoin at this time last year, you’d have just $2,500 left of that initial investment — an eye-popping loss of value for any financial product.
If Poilievre still owns a piece of the bitcoin ETF, his investment would be worth 60 per cent less than what it traded for in May, when he first disclosed the holding.”
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/en/news/1933367/as-the-crypto-chaos-continues-liberals-remind-voters-of-poilievres-praise-for-bitcoin
Today it is trading at about 84000.00. I think perhaps you might want to sit this one out.
Not to mention he made most of his money in real estate.
Get your facts straight.
Bitcoin has its ups and downs, but the point to take home about bitcoin coin is its volatility – not stable
Curious,
Please. Stock markets are volatile, and so are bonds. Not much of an argument. Bitcoin is at least as solid as both, while the broad crypto market is nothing more than a Ponzi scheme. Bitcoin is not part of that. The most value-added asset in 2025 to this point is gold.
So, you are some sort of investment advisor now?There is nothing wrong with having it as part of a diversified portfolio. You are mussing the point.
Warren,
I’ve been ruminating this evening and have come to the conclusion that by his actions over this last week, our Prime Minister has proven that quite simply, he is not up to the job. I expect that to become more and more apparent with each passing day. In the end, that will be devastating for the Liberals’ re-election plans. In essence, Carney is like a fish out of water. Hopelessly inadequate to the task at hand.
I vaguely recall that Warren was looking for a nickname for Tru-Anon types who are now Carney-Anon etc…
“Carney-barkers” is my submission.
I looked deep inside myself for that one.
Winner winner!
How about Carney-bores?
Clip of Trump saying he would rsther deal with the liberals. Go to 0.23 to watch ignore the rest as it is an opinion video. Could not find the trump clip on its own. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bNg6IyW68_s&pp=ygUdVHJ1bXAgZW5kb3JzaW5nIGxpYmVyYWwgcGFydHk%3D
I agree with Kory Teneycke’s assessment of the Mark Carney asset issue, as he explained on Herle’s podcast.
The issue isn’t so much a conflict of interest – that is, I don’t think anyone seriously believes that Mark Carney will exploit state power to ensure his investments rise in value.
The more likely problem, as explained by Kory and I agree, is that his financial records will reveal some politically toxic and very hypocritical investments. Imagine if the global warming devotee – who opposed pipelines in Canada but supported them in Brazil – were found to have a stake in Chinese coal power plants?
Yes no politician would ever use their position in Power to pad their or their friends pockets. Unheard of in our life time.
And if you want an excellent primer on padding your pockets as a politician, read Caro’s 4 book(hopefully 5 soon) series on LBJ. About 2700 pages total and could not put down.
Ok, sure, but I don’t buy the idea that Carney, who’s already a decimillionaire (possibly several times over), entered politics to boost his investments. And if a non-supporter like me doesn’t buy it, I doubt the normies will.
But if there are some hypocritical and ‘entirely legal but ethically/morally questionable’ investment decisions and tax manoeuvres in his vast portfolio, that’s potential dynamite.
I agree. In my case the issue is HOW did he make those decimillions. That’s why he doesn’t have to worry about it now. Goldman Sachs(where he likely earned the bulk of his wealth) has a very very inconvenient history. Way worse than McKinsey. The normies SHOULD be interested in that and the union busting behaviour of Brookfield. Why the NDP is falling for this shite is stunning to me. Have we all forgotten how Brookfield heat pumps benefited from a program just a year ago and then there is this. I mean FFS:
“Mr Carney, a Labour adviser who has helped Rachel Reeves with the creation of the National Wealth Fund, raised the idea of changing the cash for heat pump installations scheme with the Chancellor, according to Richard Harpin.”
https://thelogic.co/briefing/mark-carney-lobbied-u-k-finance-minister-over-rebates-that-would-help-brookfield-report/
While exploiting Bermudian tax loopholes.
Martin,
They haven’t shit their pants yet but it’s coming. This is going to be really big when it finally explodes. And imagine The Globe or The Star having the honours. The coup de grâce delivered with relish.
One could hope but we were also teased with something young Trudeau had done but then there were NDA’s and sweaty envelopes of money and ole Wink sat in the dark and drank with the cats…..sad.
Pierre just spent a few minutes talking about the Ring Of Fire. Total no brainer that the Liberals have helped delay for 10 years. I am sure that will be the latest talking point Carney will steal from Pierre. Ford is all in.
Martin,
We’re not working hard enough…
Léger: Liberals +3
Ipsos: Liberals +6
Liaison Strategies: Liberals +4
Abacus Data: Conservatives +4 (38 to 34)
1,700 respondents
Douglas,
I won’t be betting a cent on the outcome. It’s amazingly too up in the air for me.
(My brain is slowly turning to mush. Pretty soon I will qualify as a Trump supporter.)
Warren,
From CBC News:
“Cons[ervatives] won’t let reporters travel with Poilievre for upcoming election. Here’s why it matters.”
Yet another stupid decision.
This nonsense in part goes all the way back to Harper. The leader and the party have it ass backwards: you want the media with you, especially the unfriendly and biased. The more the merrier! This game is all about perception: the media reps should be left with the impression that the leader is not trying to limit access or their reporting. In fact, by having them along you send the subtle subtext that you don’t give a damn what they report because you as leader can take whatever they dish out and will remain unphased. By when you do the exact opposite, you send the opposite message: you view as important what they report and therefore want to control or limit access to shape coverage. You leave the impression that you’re intimidated by the media and are desperate to control the news cycle by denying access. Pierre doesn’t seem to understand this. No media access in the campaign will make us look weak and fearful of press coverage. In short, absolutely the wrong impression you want to leave with the media and the public.
In short, this makes PP look like a pussy. Totally stupid move.
I think Mark Carney was shocked that Rosemary Barton dared to ask a tough question. He seemed completely unprepared and very annoyed. My guess is she won’t have the chance to interview him.
I think we have one issue. Now both Captain Canada(Ford) and Pierre have touted the Ring Of Fire. Ford did it on the day after his election and challenged the feds to get off their asses but they have not yet responded. At least until yesterday. The insufferable Jonathan Wilkinson continued to be insufferable on P and P last night and was droning on and on about the carbon component of peat moss and respecting the process of all parties. Also, he said that the deposits there are exaggerated-kind of surprising he doesn’t know to read a metallurgical report. All fair points(ish) but all the normies will care about is the fact folks have been trying to develop the site for 22 years. And the CBC and Toronto Daily Star are criticizing Pierre’s remarks so we are back to regular programming, at least on this issue.
Oh and CACR.CN(KWG Resources Inc.) popped 25% on above average volume yesterday.
Carney has this all wrapped up. If Trudeau (a great actor, with no resume, and who experienced his ethics violations differently than others) can get elected, Carney (a non-actor, with a resume, and a friendly media that will whitewash any unethical behaviour) should have no problem. Never underestimate the stupidity of the electorate!
I’m not convinced Mark Carney will win. There are a number of factors to consider. Is Mark Carney’s French good enough? Can he negotiate with Donald Trump? Can he improve the Canadian economy? Will he reintroduce the carbon tax? Will voters consider him too arrogant? Will he leave Canada if he loses? Does he consider Canada a post-national state? Can he answer difficult questions? Is he a tax and spend liberal? Does he have a lot of financial deals with China? A lot can happen during a campaign.
Gilbert,
I think the Elitist’sElitistTM will win but I don’t KNOW that he’ll win so we could still win and pull off an upset. Naturally, the Liberals are already taking it for granted that they’ll win. I’m shocked. Not really.
If the Liberals play with a chip on their shoulder, like they’re losing and making a comeback – then they’ll win. If they relax, as the front runner, they’ll lose.
Warren,
Spent $500.00 at The Bay but our last store will already be gone soon enough. Seems to me they haven’t been Canadian owed since the 1980s but what the hell.
owned…