Carney issues call for unity, says no time for 'politics as usual'

Carney addressed two large existential threats posed to Canadians: the rapidly changing geopolitical environment, and major leaps forward in artificial intelligence technology. 

He assured supporters that such threats also present major opportunities for the country, if Canada acts to seize on them.

“This is not the time for politics as usual, for petty differences or political point scoring. United, we will build … a Canada strong that no one can ever take away,” Carney told the crowd of partisans, who cheered as he delivered the line.

“We are meeting in the middle of a transformation that will define this country for generations, and Canadians sense it.” 

The message comes just as his party is on the cusp of forming a majority government, anticipated to happen through three byelections on Monday — two seen as safe Liberal seats, and one hotly contest race against the Bloc Québécois in Montreal’s Terrebonne suburb. 

The Liberal leader made about half a dozen references to unity throughout the speech, his first such address to the party since winning leadership last year.

Nearly a year ago, Carney brought the Liberals back from the brink of defeat and was swept into office, after campaigning on his plan to combat threats posed by U.S. President Donald Trump and his global trade war.

Since Carney became prime minister, Trump has continued to sow global discord through pursuing punishing tariffs, starting a war against Iran, and threatening to withdraw from the NATO alliance and annex Greenland.

Diana Fox Carney, who delivered remarks just before her husband, said she and the prime minister have been “stopped on the streets” in Mumbai, Sydney, London and Paris, as well as domestically, by people who wanted to “thank Canada for our country’s global leadership” and for “providing a beacon of hope in a confounding world.”

The speech was focused on global politics more than domestic, but it also comes amid separatist movements in Alberta and Quebec that have the potential to grow, and amid swirling questions in political circles about whether there are more floor crossers waiting in the wings to join the Liberal caucus in Parliament.

Though the party’s brand and political fortunes have become anchored to Carney, the Liberal leader also nodded in his speech to major accomplishments of past Liberal prime ministers, including Justin Trudeau, who Carney says walked the path of reconciliation with Indigenous people.

Seen by many to be shifting the party to the centre-right of the political spectrum, Carney made it a point to underscore in his speech core values the party holds dear: the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the guarantee that “women always have the right to choose” and that Canadians can “love who you want to love.”

That comes after Liberals welcomed five new MPs under their tent during the convention, including Marilyn Gladu, a Sarnia, Ont., MP who defected from the Conservatives just a few days ago.

Galdu’s addition to the party three days prior stunned party insiders from the Liberals and the Tories, and raised questions since she has adopted many stances contrary to the Liberals in the past.

Soon after she crossed the floor, the anti-abortion group Campaign Life Coalition said in a news release that Gladu had a “solid record of supporting pro-life bills,” and it questioned whether this meant the Liberals were ready to soften their stance on abortion rights that had grown strong under Trudeau’s leadership.

But what followed in the ensuing days in the halls of the convention was an outpouring of support for Gladu from progressive Liberal MPs, who said Gladu knows what she’s signing up for. 

Gladu herself made it a point to vow that, while she has her own long-held “faith traditions,” she will protect the rights and freedoms of women to choose and “for people to be who they are and love who they love.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2026.