Mark Carney says ‘Who cares? 41,000 laid-off workers do

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Does Mark Carney care about talking to Donald Trump now that 1,000 workers have been given layoff notices at Algoma Steel?

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It was just shy of two weeks ago when the prime minister was attending the G20 meetings in South Africa and was asked when he had last spoken to U.S. President Donald Trump. Given the tariffs facing Canadian industry and the state of trade talks, it was a valid question — but one Carney met with open contempt.

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“Who cares? I mean, it’s a detail. It’s a detail,” Carney said. “I spoke to him. I’ll speak to him again when it matters.”

It mattered then; it matters more now.

Tariffs killed more than 41,000 manufacturing jobs

Just before Christmas, Algoma Steel has announced 1,000 layoffs, more than a third of its workforce. When Carney made his comments, I said clearly that people working in the steel, aluminum, auto and other affected industries would care about him speaking to Trump and trying to get tariffs lifted or at least lessened.

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Beyond Algoma Steel, we’ve seen General Motors cut the third shift at its Oshawa assembly plant as a result of the tariffs. Holsag Furniture in Lindsay, Ont., is laying off more than 130 people and moving its operations stateside in March in response to the tariffs.

These stories are being repeated in communities big and small across the country as a result of the tariffs. In Ontario alone, it is estimated that 40,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost this year due to tariff disruption.

With Algoma Steel, make that 41,000 jobs lost and 41,000 reasons and counting that Mark Carney should care about talking to Trump to find a deal.

Trade talks stalled as Ottawa misreads strategy

The latest talking points from the Liberals include the idea that not talking to Trump is a great strategy. However, we aren’t talking to Trump because he cut us off and whether it was over the ad from Doug Ford or some other irritant doesn’t really matter.

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Trying to frame that Carney has some great strategy by not talking to Trump is beyond ridiculous, but that is where we are.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre had a chance to ask Carney about talking to Trump, about job losses, but he took a pass. Sure, he asked the government about the issue with a question on Monday, but Carney wasn’t there and he gave a speech Tuesday asking for an emergency debate on the issue, which was denied.

Given a chance to ask Carney about his inability to get a trade deal with Trump, to deal with 50% tariffs on our steel and aluminum, 35% tariffs on our softwood lumber and 25% tariffs on autos and auto parts, Poilievre took a pass.

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Carney’s political incentives clash with economic needs

We need serious political leadership in Ottawa. What we are getting is political gamesmanship.

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Poilievre’s questions to Carney on Tuesday were mostly attempts to score cheap political points. What’s worse is that Carney plays along with that and tries to score his own cheap points in return.

Meanwhile, real people are hurting, real people are losing their jobs and our PM is using his ongoing fight with Trump for political gain.

Carney clearly knows his fight with Trump excites some voters, mostly older and retired Canadians who have no fear of being laid off. Voters over 55 years old are Carney’s current powerbase and they are the part of the electorate most likely to be concerned about Trump and tariffs.

The longer he keeps the fight with Trump going, the better it is for the Liberal party.

Carney will be in Washington Friday with Trump for the World Cup draw, which he should use as an opportunity to bend the president’s ear. Trump clearly likes Carney personally and that is something the PM should lean into to try to get talks going again.

There are thousands of families dealing with layoffs or facing that prospect; they need a prime minister who cares enough to speak up for them.

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