LPC leadership race | Mark Carney in seduction mode in Shawinigan

(Shawinigan) “With Mark, we are going to make a formidable team,” exclaimed the Minister of Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, after a visit to a dairy farm in Saint-Tite, in Mauricie. . Beside him, Mark Carney, who is trying to become the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada (PLC), acquiesced. Little visible in Quebec until today, he launched the Quebec portion of his campaign on Sunday in the riding of Saint-Maurice – Champlain.

“We have the same economic vision for Canada, for Quebec,” pleaded Mr. Carney in sometimes hesitant French, during a press scrum. “It starts here, in the region. »

The tireless minister took him from the Pittet family farm to a residence for the elderly, then to the Cataractes game of the Maritimes Quebec Junior Hockey League (LHJMQ) to take a bath in the crowd, multiplying the handshakes and the photo taken. Mr. Carney sometimes struggled to keep up with his frenetic pace.

“He will be prime minister in three weeks,” Mr. Champagne said to anyone who would listen in the corridors of the arena. The race for the Liberal leadership thus took on the appearance of an electoral campaign. Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry is one of 16 Cabinet members to support former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor’s bid to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – and the fourth from Quebec, after Mélanie Joly, Steven Guilbeault and Steven MacKinnon.

“We have the same economic vision of a prosperous Canada, an ambitious Canada, a strong Canada, a Canada that stands up, as we saw this week with Amazon,” said Mr. Champagne, referring to his letter to the American giant which closed all its warehouses in Quebec.

He added that they will form “a formidable team” in the face of the “electroshock” Trump and his threat to impose customs tariffs thanks to Mr. Carney’s experience at the Bank of Canada and his own as minister of Industry.

However, he did not want to confirm whether or not he was going to seek a fourth term as deputy for Saint-Maurice – Champlain. Mr. Champagne decided last week not to enter the race to succeed Justin Trudeau.

“We know how to negotiate, even negotiate with Mr. Trump,” argued Mr. Carney. […] He is a good negotiator, but we have several cards here. We are proud. We are tough and we will win. That’s clear. »

He said he wanted to build “the strongest economy in the G7”, spoke of diversifying the economy and investing in the battery sector and in artificial intelligence. The choice of a dairy farm to launch its campaign in Quebec was not trivial. He wanted to demonstrate his support for farmers under supply management.

The farm’s co-owner, Alphonse Pittet, reminded him that dairy producers had already had to give up market share during previous trade negotiations.

“He listened well,” he said after the meeting. Obviously neither Mr. Champagne nor Mr. Carney have made a firm commitment, which is to be expected, but we feel that they want to know, that they want to understand. »

Mr. Champagne’s press secretary, Audrey Milette, clarified in the evening that the two men are on the same page and that they want to protect supply management during future negotiations of the Canada-United States Agreement. United Mexico (CUSMA).

The two politicians then headed to Shawinigan to go to the Les Jardins du Campanile seniors’ residence where they gave countless handshakes, taking care not to miss a table in the immense dining room.

“He seems nice, he’s willing and he seems nice to me. He is like Mr. Champagne,” said Liguori Gélinas, who worked on Jean Chrétien’s campaign during his first election in 1963.

“I like Mr. Carney better because I think he goes straight with his ideas,” said the former mayor of Shawinigan, Lise Landry. “M^me Freeland also does a good job, but it’s not the same vision. »

“He needs to be a little careful with his French,” observed Cécile Elliott, another resident.

The legacy of the Trudeau era

The leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre, already considers Mr. Carney his main opponent. Earlier in the day, he published a letter on X asking if he would commit to banning from his future Cabinet any current minister who sits with Mr. Trudeau in order to avoid repeating “the same failures.”

“I think he’s scared,” retorted the aspiring prime minister. Depending on the outcome of the next election, he could appoint certain ministers who were part of the Trudeau cabinet. “If we share the same economic vision, the same vision for the French language, the same vision for Quebec, we are partners, otherwise we are not,” he replied.

However, he distanced himself from the Trudeau era. “We must have budgetary consolidation in the government, we must stop wasting,” he said, without specifying whether he would advocate a return to budget balance. He wants to favor investments that would have a leverage effect on the economy.

MP Joël Lightbound, met at the Gervais Auto Center where the Shawinigan Cataractes faced the Quebec Remparts, his team, believes that Mr. Carney could allow the Liberals to dream of forming the next government, despite the Conservatives’ lead in the polls .

He chose to support it because of its “ideal path to guide Canada through the looming turbulence.” “He still navigated through the 2008 financial crisis as governor of the Bank of Canada and Brexit in England,” he recalled.

The fact remains that he will have little time to make himself known if he becomes the next Liberal leader on March 9. “It’s too late,” said Jacques Samson, who shook Mr. Carney’s hand in the corridors of the Gervais Auto Center. “I don’t know him at all. » No question, therefore, of changing his mind, he will vote for the Bloc Québécois.

The tour of MM. Champagne and Carney ended with a crowd to meet hockey fans, management and players of the Cataractes, but also with an interview with Infoman. Mr. Carney gave his very first interview last week to the American comedy show The Daily Show.