OTTAWA—In their latest shot at Liberal leadership contender Mark Carney, the federal Conservatives are promising to change Canada’s ethics law to ensure those seeking to lead political parties publicly disclose their financial holdings.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Friday morning that, if elected, his government would change Canada’s Conflict of Interest Act to close the “Carney loophole” and force future party leadership hopefuls to disclose their financial holdings to the federal ethics commissioner within 30 days of becoming a candidate. The candidate would then have to disclose their holdings to the public within 60 days.
The Conservatives also want to change the rules to ensure future prime ministers and cabinet ministers sell off any assets they own that create a conflict of interest within 30 days of assuming their roles, Poilievre said.
It’s the latest attempt to pressure Carney, the former central banker in Canada and the United Kingdom, to disclose his financial assets before the Liberal leadership race ends on Sunday, as Poilievre’s Conservatives criticize the perceived frontrunner to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Carney committed this week to “immediately” put his holdings in a blind trust if he wins the leadership, but has so far not disclosed details of any financial assets and investments.
At a press conference in Toronto, where his handlers cherrypicked which media outlets were allowed to ask questions, Poilievre said his proposed changes are necessary to prevent “globalist” interests from influencing Canada’s leaders.
“Mr. Carney could win the Liberal leadership and become prime minister without revealing to Canadians his massive, multi-million dollar foreign holdings,” Poilievre charged.
“He’s being sneaky. He continues to hide. What is he hiding in all of these finances?”
Poilievre also suggested U.S. President Donald Trump will try to “leverage” any of Carney’s financial interests abroad to press him to act “against Canada.”
As opposition leader, Poilievre has disclosed his holdings to the ethics commissioner. The online registry, last updated in June 2024, shows Poilievre had invested unspecified amounts in a series of exchange traded funds (ETFs), two of which consist mostly of U.S. company stocks, while others are made up of shares in companies from Singapore, Switzerland, and in Bitcoin.
His office did not immediately respond to questions about these assets.
In a statement to the Star Friday morning, Carney’s campaign accused Poilievre of failing to focus on “the real issues facing Canadians,” such as U.S. President Donald Trump’s punishing tariffs against Canada.
“Since U.S. tariffs came into effect Tuesday, Pierre Poilievre has mentioned Mark Carney’s name 10 times on the same social media account, and Donald Trump’s name not even once,” the statement said.
“While Pierre Poilievre is worried about facing Mark Carney, Mark is staying focused on Canadians and building the best economy in the G7.”
For weeks, the Conservatives have repeatedly demanded that Carney disclose his assets after a career as a central banker and top executive for companies like Brookfield Asset Management, payment processor Stripe, and business media empire Bloomberg. The opposition party has demanded that Carney — the perceived frontrunner to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — should disclose all his assets immediately, branding him as “sneaky” and raising concerns about possible conflicts of interest.
Earlier this week, in response to questions about his financial holdings from the Star, Carney’s campaign said they have already been in contact with the federal ethics commissioner. If he wins the leadership race, Carney would “immediately” place all his assets in a blind trust, removing him from control over his holdings, the campaign said.
Though Carney’s campaign did not disclose information about his holdings, publicly available data shows he held more than $3 million in Brookfield shares as of the end of 2023, based on stock prices this week, with options to buy millions of dollars more at discounted prices.
In an open letter to Carney on Thursday, Conservative MP Michael Barrett alleged the leadership contender was doing the “bare minimum” by committing to put his assets in a blind trust.
“It is unclear whether some of your non-stock assets at Brookfield could even be placed into a blind trust, as you already know what the funds are invested in. Full divestment might well be your only option,” Barrett wrote.
The NDP has also challenged Carney over his work at Brookfield, where he was board chair. New Democrat MP Niki Ashton raised concerns about alleged tax avoidance, which the company has previously denied.
With files from Ryan Tumilty
