Carney, Poilievre Clash on Economy and Fuel Prices in First Joust of Liberal Majority Government

Prime Minister Mark Carney rises during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, April 15, 2026. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Mark Carney attended his first question period in Parliament on April 15 after securing a majority government, and was pressed by opposition parties on the state of the economy and the status of trade negotiations with the United States.

The Carney Liberals secured a majority after winning three byelections on April 13 and gaining five opposition MPs who crossed the floor since November.

Carney’s first policy move with the majority status was to announce on April 14 the temporary suspension of the federal excise tax on fuel until Labour Day, to provide relief amid spiking oil prices due to the Iran war.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre previously called on the Liberal government to remove all federal taxes on fuel for the remainder of the year to help Canadians weather higher prices at the pump. A Conservative motion on the topic was defeated by all other parties on April 15.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre rises during Question Period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, April 15, 2026. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Poilievre focused on the issue during question period on April 15, asking Carney to go further and suspend the Clean Fuel Regulations and the GST on fuel.

“With Canada having the highest grocery price inflation in the G7 and paying 20 percent more at the pumps, we put the pressure on the prime minister and he’s partially backed down—removing only one of those taxes and only for a third of the year,” Poilievre said. “Why doesn’t he follow our full plan to reduce gas prices by 25 cents a litre by getting rid of all the taxes for all the year?”

Carney responded that the federal government is using the excess revenues from higher oil prices to bring down gasoline prices by 10 cents, and diesel by 4 cents.

“What we are not doing is what the leader of the Opposition is proposing, which is to substantially increase the deficit, something he’s regularly against, by more than $3 billion, because this government can count,” Carney said.

From there, the two leaders veered into more pointed accusations, with Poilievre noting the record deficit introduced by Carney in his November 2025 budget.

Poilievre also accused Carney of “money printing” and fuelling inflation during his time as central bank governor in Canada and the United Kingdom, while the prime minister defended his record, saying inflation remained below 2 percent during his tenure.

Inflation rates were between 0.66 percent and 2.68 percent during his time at the Bank of England, and between 0.3 percent and 2.91 percent when he was governor of the Bank of Canada.

“One thing I’ve learned in my economics education is you’ve got to study history and you’ve got to look at numbers,” Carney said, with Poilievre retorting, it’s “clear that he’s learned all the wrong lessons.”

After Poilievre remarked on an “inflation of Liberal arrogance,” Carney brought the topic back to recent floor-crossings in the House of Commons.

“To learn a lesson, you have to have ears to hear. There are some on the benches opposite who have been listening,” Carney said in reference to the five opposition MPs joining his caucus.

Trade Negotiations

While Poilievre pressed Carney on government finances, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet requested an update from Ottawa on the status of trade negotiations with the United States.

He asked Carney whether Ottawa will “get the United States and the White House to do a 180” on the tariffs, noting how the prime minister was elected on a pledge to do so.

“We are working on it,” Carney replied. After being pressed on the matter, he added that negotiations are underway on the renewal of the United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA) on free trade.

“Negotiations will continue, but the starting point is the best trade agreement in the world with the United States,” said the prime minister. Carney added that the effective tariff rate imposed by the United States has gone down since his election in April 25.

U.S. duties on Canada and the rest of the world went down because the U.S. Supreme Court in February struck down the tariffs implemented under a specific piece of U.S. legislation, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

The U.S. side cancelled trade talks with Canada last October after the Ontario government ran an anti-tariff TV ad campaign in the United States.

High-level contact restarted in March, with Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc visiting Washington. Formal talks between Canada and the United States on the USMCA review, however, have not been announced by Washington as they have with Mexico.

“I expect that process to start in due course,” LeBlanc said on March 30.