The Ben Mulroney Show - Mark Carney is the Teflon candidate... all he has to do is say he misheard or misspoke

Episode Date: April 10, 2025

Guests and Topics: -Mark Carney is the Teflon candidate... all he has to do is say he misheard or misspoke with Guest: Regan Watts, Founder Fratton Park Inc., former Senior aide to minister of finance Jim Flaherty If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend! For more of the Ben Mulroney Show, subscribe to the podcast! https://globalnews.ca/national/program/the-ben-mulroney-show Follow Ben on Twitter/X at https://x.com/BenMulroney Enjoy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Breaking news, a brand new game is now live at Bet365. Introducing Prize Matcher, a daily game that's never ordinary. All you have to do is match as many tiles as you can, and the more you match the better. We also have top table games like our incredible Super Spin Roulette, Blackjack, and a huge selection of slots. So there you have it. How can you match that? Check out Prize Matcher and see why it's never ordinary at Bet365. Must be 19-year 19 or older Ontario only please play responsibly if you or someone you know has concerns about gambling visit connexontario.ca t's and z's apply okay Martin let's try

one remember big you got it the Ford it's a big deal event is on how's that a little bigger the Ford it's a big deal event nice now the offer Lisa 2025 escape active all-wheel drive from 198 bi-weekly at 1.99% APR for 36 months with 27.55 down. Wow, that's like $99 a week. Yeah, it's a big deal. The Ford, it's a big deal event.

Visit your Toronto area Ford store or Ford.ca today. Welcome back to the Ben Mulrooney show and another day, another slew of stories to deal with about the campaign trail as the federal parties get ready to go to the polls and we as a country decide who we want to form the next government. Of course, the Donald Trump of it all makes this very unique moment in history. Yesterday Donald Trump, some call it a pivot, some call it a walkback, others say this all went according to plan. But a lot of the tariffs came off for 90 days. The

Canadian situation is a little bit different in that it is exactly the same today as it was yesterday. Let's listen to Pierre Poliev talking about what this actually means. While President Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for dozens of country, he kept those tariffs in place on Canada. Take that in for a moment. This after Prime Minister Carney boasted that he had a, quote, productive phone call with the president. He said that he had made progress with the president. What progress? What progress do the auto workers in Brampton and Windsor and elsewhere in Canada today see?

Yeah, I hear that and I agree with everything he just said. Let's bring in a guest who may disagree or he may tell me I'm right. Welcome back to the show. Good friend of mine, good friend of ours. And look, he's been on the show so much. He's a good friend of yours. Reagan Watts founder of fret and part Inc and former senior aide to the Minister of Finance, the late great Jim Flaherty Reagan, welcome back. Good morning, Ben. So what's your assessment is is is Pierre calling it right here?

Well, Mr. Polly Poliev and Mr. Carney, this election has been fought primarily over two issues. One being cost of living and affordability, and two, our relationship to the United States and how to manage President Trump. Mr. Carney and the liberals have been crowing for several weeks now about how the Carney Prime Ministership was going to represent a new regime, a new opportunity, a new way of engaging with the

world. There was a time when Mr. Carney said our relationship with the United States is over. And then he said we had a productive conversation or he had productive conversations with President Trump. I'm not really sure what to believe, but what I do know, and I can only deal with things as they are, not as we wish them to be, is that yesterday, along with China and Mexico, Canada is one of only three countries that's still getting smacked with US tariffs. And that means workers in the auto sector,

in steel and aluminum and forestry are still getting hit. And these are families who are worrying about their future. And I'm not really sure why Mr. Carney would welcome Mr. Trump's actions because those are critical sectors, particularly auto for the province of Ontario as well as steel aluminum that are under tremendous pressure because of President Trump and US actions. So I think Mr. Poliev is right and has a very good point. You know Mr. Carney is in a campaign, so he's gonna do best with the politics.

But the reality is, since January, Canada has not been able to escape being under the thumb of President Trump, regardless of who the prime minister is or what we've tried to do. And he came, he said, I left the private sector to come back to Canada because I'm the guy who can solve the problem.

If you're the smartest guy in the room, I kind of expected a little more. I'm not and I'm not I don't think I'm being glib. I don't think I'm being facetious. I expected more from Mark Carney. If that's why he came back, why don't we why didn't we fare better in this situation? Well, I think it speaks to competence. better in this situation? Well, I think it speaks to competence. You know, Mr. Carney, and I've said on your show, Ben, and your listeners have heard me say this before. As an economist, he is eminently qualified to run a G7 economy. He's been a governor of

two central banks. That is not nothing that is substantial and verifiable and quantifiable experience. However, real politic and dealing leader to leader is much different than dealing as a central banker at a international meeting with other monetary policy makers. And so, you know, Mr. Carney, I think has a lot to answer for, I don't know if the media are going to push him on this, but you know,

Canadian auto workers, steel workers, and aluminum workers and their families, particularly in Ontario, are going to wake up tomorrow morning and still have tariffs likely on their businesses and their employers. And they're going to be worried for their jobs. And for me, that's not progress. So, Reid, I'm going to take issue with one thing you said a few minutes ago. You said he said a while back that our relationship with the United States was over. said it, he said a while back that our relationship with the United States was over. He actually also said it last night. Let's listen to what I think is infuriating audio.

The world economy is fundamentally changed. The relationship, the relationship we had with the Americans. These guys weren't wrong. They want us to be the 50 first hate. They want to break us. They want to break us so they can own us. They want. They want our resources. They want our water. They want our land. They want our country. Reagan, we don't have to talk about the politics of it. I get the politics. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That beating the Donald Trump drum has gotten Mark Carney this far. But I've never heard inflammatory fear mongering like that from a

candidate who wants to form government federally. I completely agree with you, Ben. And I happen to believe in this case, despite Mr. Carney's credentials as a central banker, I think he is being reckless in his comments towards the United States and the US administration. By the way, just as Justin Trudeau and his government work for the last 10 years, which is why the contempt that they've shown towards in particular Republican lawmakers but American and US federal lawmakers in particular has put us in the position we're in and you know Canadians and Ontarians in particular have to ask themselves those who are under tariffs or working in industries

that are tariff do they want another four years of this approach because it has not yielded the positive outcomes that Canada should be yielding with its best friend. I also find it so irresponsible and so callous to get up on stage and just decide the relationship is over. And I have a real problem with it for someone who actually hasn't been elected yet. I don't know why. He is the Prime Minister. I can see that point. There's just something that doesn't sit well with me,

that all the work over the course of generations and decades, building a relationship that has stood the test of time, now it's hit a bump in the road, a significant bump in the road, but somebody who hasn't been elected comes in and says, it's over. I have a problem with that. Look, I think Ben, that's a very wise and astute observation. You know, if Mr. Carney wants to campaign between now and the remainder of the election on severing Canada's relationship to the United States, I invite him to do so.

I think most Canadians realize that friendships take work and they take effort and you need to lean in and nurture. And if there's some give and take, the kind of language where Mr. Carney says that the relationship with the United States is over, I think is is inflammatory. It's incorrect. It's not the right approach for Canada. And, and yes, he is the prime minister. So he's certainly welcome to his own views on this. But I don't think Canadians are on side with him. And I think he he and the Liberal Party should be thinking very critically about how they approach the U. the US administration in this very important file. Regan Watts. Lastly, yesterday was another example of Mark

Carney stepping in and having to walk something back when he claims that he had missed he didn't hear somebody referencing the quote unquote genocide in Gaza, which in my mind, it's not in my opinion, it's not happening. He heard Gaza and then said something that sounded like he was agreeing with the statement made by the person heckling him. And then he had to go back and walk it back.

The question I have for you is this seems to happen far more than I think a lot of us expected that he gets himself into trouble every now and then, but none of this stuff seems to stick to him. He's like the Teflon candidate. What do you make of that? Well, there's a couple things that I want to address, Ben. I'll deal with the Teflon candidate in a second.

With respect to the issues in Israel and Gaza, there is only one party in this election who are on the side of Israel, and Jewish Canadians, Israeli Canadians, and supporters of Israel as you and I are, and many, many others, millions of Canadians are, know that it's pure Pollyanna conservatives who will support Israel and its right to exist and its right to defend itself. You got 30 seconds for the second point, my friend.

Yeah. And the idea that the Liberal Party is on the wrong side of that issue should be very clear to everyone else. With respect to Mr. Carney and his Teflon Don suit that he's wearing, he has spent a lot of time with reporters and media over the years building relationships. And I think Mr. Carney is getting the benefit of the doubt from people covering his campaign because he's got a lot of credit to build, to draw from. And when he makes mistakes, the gallery are giving him a bit of a pass and that is to be expected given his longevity in Ottawa.

Regan Watts, I appreciate your insights, my friend. We'll talk to you soon. Merci, nonchalant. Thanks. There's no limit to how far criminals will go to cover their tracks, but investigators will go even further to uncover the truth. I'm Nancy Hicks, a senior crime reporter for Global News.

This season on Crime Beat, I'll take you from the crime scene to the courtroom and inside some of Canada's most high-profile cases and some you've likely never heard of before. Search for and listen to Crime Beat on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.