Carney has been in another economic crisis and that time he also chose fear over hope
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By Michael Higgins
Published Apr 18, 2025
4 minute read
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Project Fear almost worked for Mark Carney in Britain and now he is trying the same tactic here.
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To listen to Carney is to envisage that the United States is about to invade us; steal our oil, gas and water; ravage our resources, land and women and generally wreak havoc.
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It is a message of despair and fear, and it is rooted in nothing but guile and political ambition.
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Carney’s closing message during the Leaders’ Debate was a chance to show Canadians that he was made of the right prime ministerial stuff, that he had answers to these challenging times, to bolster the mood of the nation and unite us in a common purpose based on hope.
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Instead, he chose fearmongering.
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“We are facing the biggest crisis of our lifetimes,” said Carney. “Donald Trump is trying to fundamentally change the world economy, the trading system, but really what he is trying to do to Canada, he’s trying to break us, so the U.S. can own us. They want our land, they want our resources, they want our water. They want our country.”
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Carney is trying to build a platform on Trump ranting about the 51st state which was a barb against former prime minister Justin Trudeau, or the “governor” as the president persistently called him.
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Trump has also referred to the great “faucet” in Canada that could help drought-stricken California.
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Call Trump’s musing about annexation what you will – childish, petulant, a game of bluff or simply loud-mouth bullying – but they are most certainly not a declaration of war.
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And yet Carney, in all seriousness, boldly declares, “They want our country,” as if troops were massing on the border.
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Carney has been in another economic crisis and that time he also chose fear over hope.
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As governor of the Bank of England, from 2013 to 2020, he was supposed to be apolitical as Britain navigated through Brexit and its break-up from the European Union.
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But it was clear to many that Carney was playing politics and was aligned with those who wished to remain in the union, members of Project Fear.
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Britain leaving the EU was the “biggest domestic risk to financial stability”, he told a parliamentary committee in 2016.
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Another time, Carney warned of the dangers of a recession should Britain leave, sparking a call for him to resign by Jacob Rees Mogg, a Conservative MP and Treasury Select Committee member.
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“He has shown himself to be partial in a political debate when the Bank of England needs to be independent. That has permanently damaged his credibility as Governor of the Bank of England,” said Rees Mogg.
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Norman Lamont, a former British finance minister, was also scathing of Carney’s fearmongering.
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“The governor should be careful that he doesn’t cause a crisis. If his unwise words become self-fulfilling, the responsibility will be the governor’s and the governor’s alone. A prudent governor would simply have said that ‘we are prepared for all eventualities’.”
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Nigel Lawson, another former finance minister, joined in saying, “He’s behaved disgracefully. I have known all six of his predecessors as governor of the Bank of England and not one of them would have thought it proper to behave as he has done, particularly during the campaign when he joined in the chorus of scaremongering.
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“It is appalling and I think the sooner he stands down from the governorship, the better.”
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So Carney’s attempts to instil fear in Canadians is a tried and tested tactic. But it is a despicable way to try to win an election.
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Trump’s tariffs are not just aimed at Canada, but at the world. The president may well be upending the world’s economy and sowing chaos, but the answer to that is to make Canada stronger, more self-reliant and to encourage trading with other nations and not just our ally to the south.
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In a time of crisis, what is needed from a prime minister is someone who can embolden a nation to greatness, not leave people cowering in fear.
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Carney is not a man who uses words unwisely or without consideration. His closing statement must have been carefully thought out, the anti-Americanism a deliberate choice, the fearmongering a calculated decision.
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If Carney was hoping to be Churchillian he missed the mark by a long way. This was not Churchill but churlish.
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Fear was the weapon Carney used in Britain in trying to persuade a nation not to leave Europe, and fear is his weapon of choice in this election campaign.
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Britain rejected fear and chose hope. Canadians should do the same and reject Carney.
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