Conservative MPs slammed Prime Minister Mark Carney Monday over dismissive comments he made recently when asked about stalled trade talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.
While taking questions from reporters in Johannesburg on Sunday, Carney was asked when he last spoke with Trump and replied, “Who cares?”
“I look forward to speaking with the president soon, but I don’t have a burning issue to speak with the president about right now,” he said. “When America wants to come back and have conversations on the trade side, we will have those discussions.”
The prime minister made the remarks to reporters while he was attending the G20 leaders’ summit, which Trump boycotted.
Conservatives zeroed in on Carney’s comments during question period in the House of Commons on Monday. Leader Pierre Poilievre pointed out that Carney campaigned during the spring election on his ability to deal with the Trump administration.
“We care about the workers who have lost their jobs and don’t have paycheques to make their mortgage payments. Why doesn’t he care?” Poilievre said.
Government House leader Steve MacKinnon deflected Poilievre’s line of questioning by switching topics.
MacKinnon said later that “of course” the prime minister cares about the well-being of Canada’s workers and industries and the government is carrying out “constructive” negotiations with the U.S.
Carney was not present for question period, having just returned from the G20 summit in South Africa on Monday morning.
Before question period, Liberal MP Wayne Long told reporters Carney was doing a “great job” travelling the world and building relationships.
Liberal MP Ben Carr also defended Carney, saying the prime minister was overseas in the midst of important negotiations with allies on trade deals.
“The relationship with the Americans remains incredibly important but there are other initiatives that the prime minister has to undertake as well,” Carr told reporters outside West Block.
The Conservative Party of Canada argued in a news release Monday that Carney’s “flippant” attitude matches his results for Canadians.
“The Prime Minister’s term has been marked by a series of unilateral concessions without real results in return,” the news release said. “If nothing else, the tariffs which put thousands of Canadians out of work should be a ‘burning issue’ for him, and all those entrusted to lead our nation.”
Trump scuttled trade talks on his punishing tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles last month after the Ontario provincial government ran an anti-tariff ad blitz across the U.S. that irritated the president.
Ontario’s ad campaign featured clips of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan warning that tariffs lead to trade wars and hurt the American economy.
Carney apologized to Trump for the ad when the two saw each other briefly at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in South Korea earlier this fall. However, trade talks have not formally resumed.
The Liberals have maintained that trade talks have a natural ebb and flow to them and that talks with the Trump administration eventually will resume.
Canada is preparing separately to enter broader talks on the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, known as CUSMA — the country’s most important free trade pact — which is set to come up for renewal next year.
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