Pierre Poilievre pitches accountability legislation targeting Mark Carney

Poilievre made the announcement at a downtown Ottawa hotel Sunday morning, taking his standard four questions from selected reporters, while accusing Carney of hiding from Canadians.

The Liberal campaign had no public events on Saturday, but Carney was scheduled to appear on the popular Quebec television show “Toute le monde en parle” on Sunday evening, where Poilievre is also expected to be a guest.

The Conservative leader’s proposal outlined on Sunday would update the current accountability act, which was the first piece of legislation introduced by former prime minister Stephen Harper’s government in 2006. It would raise fines for ethics violations, require candidates to disclose where they have paid taxes over the last seven years and require new ministers to disclose their assets within 30 days, half the time that is currently allowed.

The proposal also had some provisions that appear to be specifically aimed at Carney. Poilievre said one of the first provisions would be a ban on what he called “shadow lobbying.”

Currently, people paid to try and influence government decisions are required to disclose their lobbying and be registered with the lobbying commissioner. Public office holders are also required to disclose any conflicts of interest they hold and excuse themselves from any decisions related to those conflicts.

Former prime minister Justin Trudeau appointed Carney as an adviser to the Liberal party on economic issues last fall, but as it wasn’t a government position, it fell outside of lobbying requirements.

“We cannot allow high-priced corporate insiders like Mark Carney to get around those rules,” Poilievre said.

Poilievre’s campaign manager Jenni Byrne owns a lobbying firm, which works mostly on provincial files, but has worked federally. Several associates of Byrne’s firm work on the Poilievre campaign.

The Conservative leader also took aim at Carney’s financial holdings. The Liberal leader was chair of Brookfield Asset Management before coming to office and is believed to hold significant amounts of Brookfield stock. Carney placed those assets in a blind trust when he became prime minister, but Poilievre said Carney knows what assets went into the trust and knows many of them would not be sold.

He said cabinet ministers, including the prime minister should be required to convert all their assets to cash and place that cash into a blind trust to be invested by a trustee.

“He should have to sell, liquidate these investments and then have the cash reinvested without his knowledge, so that he could not possibly act in his own interest,” he said.

Poilievre said Carney had not even revealed if he paid taxes in Canada, since returning from London where he served as Bank of England Governor. Liberal spokesperson Mohammad Hussain said that charge was ridiculous.

“Yes, Mark Carney pays income taxes in Canada and has always followed all the rules as a tax-paying resident of Canada,” he said in an email to the Toronto Star. “While Pierre Poilievre continues his desperate attacks, Mark Carney is taking action to stand up to Donald Trump’s tariffs and build a stronger economy for all Canadians.”

The blind trust arrangement has been part of Canadian politics for decades. Former prime minister Paul Martin placed his ownership of a shipping firm in a trust when he was prime minister. Former prime minister Justin Trudeau put his assets in a trust before becoming prime minister.

Requiring ministers to sell those assets would be a significant change, with anyone coming to office with a family business could be required to sell it. Martin would have been required to sell the shipping firm. Carney would have to sell his assets, but so would potentially Conservative MP Scott Reid whose family owns the Giant Tiger grocery store chain.

Poilievre and the Conservatives have attacked Carney on conflict of interest issues throughout the campaign, but it has yet to dent Canadians’ perception of the Liberal leader.

The most recent polling from Abacus Data showed that the percentage of Canadians who have a positive impression is at 48 per cent, twice what it was in early January when Trudeau resigned.

The poll also showed the Liberals with a four-point lead nationally and significant leads in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

The poll conducted earlier this week was done with an online panel which precludes typical margins of error, but a similar random sample would have a margin of error of 2.31 per cent 19 times out of 20.

In addition to the appearance on “Toute le monde en parle,” the party leaders will square off in the national English and French leaders’ debates later this week, before advanced polling begins next weekend.

Poilievre said Canadians will have to decide this week if they want change or the status quo the Liberals have been offering.

“Canadians will have to decide if they can afford a fourth Liberal term,” he said. “Change means hope. Change means affordable food. Change means affordable homes. Change means safe streets. Change means well, change in your pocket.”