The Ben Mulroney Show - Mark Carney wants this election to be about Donald Trump

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

Guests and Topics: -Mark Carney wants this election to be about Donald Trump with Guest: Sharan Kaur, Political strategist and partner at Sovereign Advisory 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

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who already count on us and contact Desjardins today. We'd love to talk business. Welcome to the Ben Mulroney Show on the Chorus Talk Network. You may be listening to us on the iHeartRadio streaming app or in podcast form. Wherever we find your ear holes, we say welcome and thank you on this Monday, the first full day of the election campaign.

Listen, Mark Carney did give me one thing I wanted, which is finally my chance to exercise my democratic right by going to the polls. And he did so yesterday by going to to to meet the governor general and ask for an election. Here is Mark Carney, the liberal leader, announcing the election. I've just requested that the Governor General dissolve parliament and call an election for April 28th. She has agreed. We are facing the most significant crisis of our lifetimes because of President Trump's unjustified trade actions and his threats to our sovereignty.

Our response must be to build a strong economy and a more secure Canada. President Trump claims that Canada isn't a real country. He wants to break us so America can own us. We will not let that happen. We're over the shock of the betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons. I mean, yeah, Donald Trump is a problem, but why does he think that we are easy pickings? Could it be that over the past 10 years, we have weakened ourselves to make ourselves such an easy target?

I humbly submit that that's a possibility, but I don't believe that Mark Carney wants us looking in the rear view mirror at the last decade. I think he wants us looking forward to Donald Trump. I don't know that that's a winning strategy because so many people have been hurt. So many people have been left behind. Those voices will be heard during this campaign. And to look solely forward is to ignore those very people that were hurt.

I think those voices will get loud during this campaign, but that's just one man's opinion. And look, I have lived here for the majority of my life, especially the past 25, 20, no, 30 some odd years. So I know a thing or two about a thing or two. And so I thought it was quite interesting, shall we say, where Mark Carney dropped a video with Mike Myers about being Canadian.

Let's listen to some of this, this little gem. Mr. Prime Minister, Mike Myers, what are you doing here? I just thought I'd come up and check on things. You live in the States? Yeah, but I'll always be Canadian. But you live in the States? Yeah, but I'll always be Canadian. But you live in the States? Yeah, so? Do you remember Mr. Dress Up?

The children's show on CBC? What were the names of Mr. Dress Up's two puppet friends? Casey and Finnegan? Budda. Spud? Howie? Meeker? Capitalist Saskatchewan?

Regina? Tragically? Pip? You're a defenceman, defending a two on one. What do you do? Take away the pass, obviously. What are the two seasons in Toronto? Winter and construction. Wow. You really are Canadian.

Yeah. But let me ask you, Mr Prime Minister, will there always be a Canada? There will always be a Canada. Alright, elbows up. Elbows up. Oh, God. Oh, God. I mean, where to start?

First of all, the only way that works, the whole thing is about, there's a litmus test to being Canadian. So let me go through some of the most worthless performative hoops for you to jump through to prove that you're Canadian. Secondly, the only way Mark Carney gets away with that is to find somebody to test who's been in Canada less than him. If he had done that with me, I promise you it would have been a different conversation.

I would have said let me ask you a question, sir. What do you make of our lost productivity over the past 10 years? What do you make of the hollowing out of our military? What do you make of the poorest border? What do you make of the deaths on the streets because of fentanyl? I would have asked those kinds of questions. Instead you get a, will there always be a Canada, Mr. Prime Minister? And let's also look at the references, the cultural references. None of those resonate with anyone younger than 30. That is designed for boomer plus. The boomer plus people who polls are saying may

may vote for Mark Carney. And also can I just say on a macro level that reminds me of the cringe worthy videos of Kamala Harris doing zoom videos with celebrities. Like it's the exact same thing. and zoom videos with celebrities. Like it's the exact same thing. It's the exact same thing. But that's what he wanted to show you as Canadian by talking to an American, a Canadian who lives in America. And there are videos out there, you can find them of Mike Myers talking about how much he loves America.

So he's got to own that too. He's got to own that too. But it's not just about that video. We're actually in an election campaign. So there's some meat on the bone now. Mark Carney spoke about Danielle Smith, Pierre Poliev, and Americanism. My responsibility is to work with all Canadians, with all stakeholders, certainly with the premiers, with national indigenous organizations, with labor, with other stakeholders, with everyone. So that's my responsibility. I take that seriously.

With respect to the Premier's comments, the... I take note of her... alignment of Monsieur Poilier with Mr. Trump, and would note that that's the one of the decisions that Canadians will have to make whether they want a government that is unifying but standing up for Canada and is taking focused action to build a better economy or they want division and Americanism and that's what Mr.

Poliev seems to be offering and just endorsed by the premier of Alberta. It sure is really funny how just a few weeks ago as we were hoping to stave off the tariffs, the Liberals were reminding us and reminding the Americans of our shared values, of our shared interests, of our shared history, of our shared commitment to democracy, and how much we have in common with the Americans. But now the idea that a government in Ottawa could have the interests of Canada aligning with the interests of the Americans so that we can work together to build something greater than what we are. All of a sudden, that's Americanism.

You can't have it both ways. And it really does seem like you want it both ways. It seems like you want to say one thing and then forget it's been said and then say something completely different. Some of the greatest things that this country has ever accomplished was when we were on the same page as our American allies. I think free trade, I think NAFTA,

I think the first Gulf War, I think the love that we showed to the Americans after 9-11, I think acid rain, I think ozone layer, I think a whole lot of things. Just because we're rowing in the same direction doesn't mean we're in the same damn boat. And it's childlike to assume otherwise. It is, there is no nuance in what you say.

And it's disingenuous and it belies the history of this nation. We share a landmass. We do not share, just because we share ideals and values does not make the ideals that we espouse American. How small do you think we are? That because we say Canada first, because we wanna build a Canadian economy,

how small do you think we are? I do not know that that's a winning strategy and I would seriously reconsider it. But he goes on. Oh no, he doesn't go on. How small do you think we are? I do not know that that's a winning strategy and I would seriously reconsider it. But he goes on. Oh no, he doesn't go on Donald Trump. Because Donald Trump, this is what we want. This is what the liberals want.

They want Donald Trump to be the focus. And Donald Trump did wade in again to all of this, musing about adding Canada to the US and then commenting about how he's changed the election. Let's listen. You add that to this country? What a beautiful landmass, the most beautiful landmass anywhere in the world.

And it was just cut off for whatever reason. It would be great. Now, is it liberal? Maybe. But you know, a conservative, until I got involved, because I don't care who wins up there, I frankly probably would do better with the liberal than the conservative if you want to know the truth, but just a little while ago before I got involved and totally changed the election, which I don't care about,

probably it's our advantage actually, but the conservative was leading against, I call him Governor Trudeau, the conservative was leading by 35 points. So you know, so I don't know about that. I think Canada is a place like a lot of other places. If you have a good candidate, the candidate's going to win. Well, that's true. But one thing that everybody knows and has always known is Donald Trump respects strength, whether it's an autocrat or a Democrat, he respects strength.

And over the past 10 years, the liberal government has spent it's almost almost like it's an autocrat or a democrat, he respects strength. And over the past 10 years, the liberal government has spent, it's almost almost like it's been their goal to weaken Canada in every way, whether it be militarily, whether it be social fabric, whether it be vision, whether it be economy, whether it be anything. They have weakened us over the past 10 years. And so when we say he he respects strength, it also means that he views weakness as prey and so if we are prey if he is a predator right

now it is because the Liberal government over the past 10 years has made it so welcome back to the Ben Moroney show and today marks the first full day of the federal election campaign we've checked in with a conservative strategist a little bit earlier. And now we're going to turn our attention to the liberal side of the equation. We want to know how how how when how went the launch and to give us her take on these things is Sharon Carr, political strategist and partner at Sovereign Advisory. Sharon, welcome back to the show. Thanks for being here. Hello, Ben. Okay. How do you think Mark Carney's weekend launch went? So I think so far, he's come off pretty strong. He listen, people will disagree with his style

versus poly up style, but he's a very different personality. He's coming off more like a little less with the one liners and more about what he sees for Canada and what's happening. So I think it was great. I think there's a lot more to do but it's really easy to slip up on campaigns and Mark's not a, he's not a seasoned politician, right? He is someone who's been in the business world and and so he's got to work a bit on his on his media skills and how he how he handles reporters but also don't expect him to kind of be someone who's super political when it comes to the journalism.

I think he's really much fact-based and we're gonna see more of that. Just going off of yesterday, and listen, I know you can't compare crowd sizes in Newfoundland versus the GTA, but it feels to me, because I was at one of the events, I was at Pierre's event yesterday it does feel like there's a call it an enthusiasm gap.

What do you think of where we are from from the get go it just seems like one started really fast and the others feels like it's taken a little time to ramp up. Well yeah there are two very very different um, it's, we even just like, kind of look at the regional aspects. Like you said, you're going to see difference in how many people were there. Now, Pierre had a pretty packed, uh, campaign launch, uh, in the G I believe it was GTA yesterday and we saw that by numbers and people were lining up to get t-shirts cause they couldn't get in. So that's always a good sign.

But, uh, uh, listen, Mark's event out in Atlantic Canada was also, I would say, pretty significant for that crowd. Now, Atlantic Canada is a place that tends to switch writings at times. And you're seeing the latest poll numbers I've even seen out there are showing it going red. And I think that we're going to see differences in crowds of where people are going. But if Mark was to host an event in Toronto, I can probably assure you that it would have very similar type of crowds. Let me tell you one part of the strategy that I think isn't going to work. And you tell me what you think is. So yesterday he had 200 people in the room, but he had about 50 people protesting outside. And I know that the liberals really want people to keep their

eyes on what they say is the prize, which is Donald Trump. That's the problem. That's the problem we're going to solve. And a lot of good is going to come once we solve that. But in doing that implicit in that, at least as I see it, is that forces you to ignore the last 10 years. It forces you to ignore those who may have grievances over the past 10 years. It forces you to ignore the 50 people outside the event. What do you think of that?

Well, you can it's completely fair. You're going to hear a lot of people say you've been there for the last 10 years. What are you going to do? And I guess my I'm trying to be fair and balanced because I've worked in this government. And what I will say is that when you have a company and a CEO change, if the company is in the complete dumpster and you have a new CEO, you don't assume that the entire company is going to suck. You do have some vision and some strategy in a new direction. So a lot of people are going to say, this is the same thing. It's no different. And I'm going to say, you know what? I actually think it's going to be different because what Mark is proposing in a lot of ways brings people like me who are right-leaning liberals back into the center of the fold because it kind of went way

too left. So I do think that people are valid to have that concern. And listen, fair-minded people can change their minds. I just questioned the speed with which it happened when you've got so many 23 of the 26 ministers in the cabinet, for the former cabinet, who were up until just a few weeks ago, espousing values and policies that they now have turned their backs on. It's hard for me to understand how that can happen so quickly, and it be genuine. And you know what, that is 100% valid. And people are going to have to explain that, right? He does. And I guess what I would say to kind of give him the benefit of the doubt is what was he to do when he came in and to shift cabinet? He changed a bunch of roles. There's he was the change

that came in, right? It wasn't the entire caucus. So my guess is going to say is that when and if he does win, you're going to see a very, very different face of people who are on on cabinet. But the cynicism and the skepticism is completely fair. And we want to see action, we want to see change. And I actually think the people who are around him who were there before the ones who should be answering to this, because he's he's new in the fold, right? So but it's completely valid, the ones who should be answering to this because he's he's new in the fold right yeah so but it's completely valid the cynicism should be there i think people should ask that question i'm speaking with Sharon Carr we're getting the lay of the land in the early days of this election campaign on the liberal side of the fence one thing that i've noticed very early on Sharon is Pierre Poliev is you know he's a he's a he's got a young family and

they are front and center with him on the campaign trail, whereas I'm only seeing Mark Carney on his own. Is that a deliberate strategy or like explain that to me? Because that is a contrast in terms of visuals. Well, absolutely. And I've seen people online making that reference. And I guess what I would say is, Pierre's got a young family. Like it's not like him and his or he can just kind of leave the family and go out there.

I love the idea of families campaigning with candidates because it makes them human. It kind of shows a different side of them. I always love it. But I've also been in positions where the kids are grown up. Everyone's got other obligations. And you know, it's really hard to be of a certain age and be in the spotlight because the internet is a mean place.

And we saw Carney's daughter Cleo who spoke at the leadership and you know what after she spoke the amount of this like the viral hate that was online, I wouldn't blame kids of that age not wanting to do it but it is a different image right? It's a very different image. You will likely see his family with him, but I don't think this means anything besides the fact that they're in different circumstances. And Pierre's got, he's got young kids, right? And I just think that it's gonna work for him. It's definitely gonna help and it's gonna work for him,

but it's hard. It's hard when you have families and you live in this time where people are completely unhinged to a certain extent. We just got word earlier today of the debates being set. They're going to take place in Montreal. And I think it's mid-April. I think it's either 16th and 17th or 17th and 18th.

And I've got to wonder, when does that debate prep start? Well, I would say the debate prep has already started. And we're seeing how they kind of react to each other, but it will get closer to it. It's going to get a lot, I would say more condensed and people are going to be more focused. These are two very different people. And I keep saying two, because to be honest, I don't think the NDP is at all consequential

in this election. And I know we're probably going to get a bunch of folks who send you messages now saying, oh my God, that's completely not true. But let's be real, Javneet Singh has not been able to penetrate the cycle of news beyond the launch. Well, I'm gonna be talking to Tom Park in a little bit later about the NDP strategy

in this election. But I have been critical of Mark Carney's debates, the quality of his debating skills, because he really wasn't up against people who really want to debate him. But I wonder whether he just hasn't, the moment hasn't met the man yet. Maybe he does have skills. I mean, he's, he has, he has gone before the House of Commons in the, in the UK. He has sat before committees. I mean, he knows how to take tough questions and I've got to wonder whether the

expectations, right? Maybe they want to keep the expectations low. Well, you know what? He's, he might be new to politics, but he is not new to criticism. And especially when you've been in the UK as central bank governor, the UK has some of the most vicious tabloids and press and he's dealt with that. Now, you're right, the debate was a bit awkward to watch before because these are people who are on the same team. And even the even the shame that was being thrown around was kind of uncomfortable. But you know what? It's going to be, we're going to see people like Jimmy to attack him for his wealth, attack him for his experience, and which is a bit ironic to me considering how he's presented himself. But Pierre, I can probably assure you is not going to hold any punches back and it's going to be soundbites and soundbites of like Carbon Tax, Kearney, all this stuff. But we have seen him pivot a bit the last, I would say, couple days of his tone and tenor. So there could be a world in which he tones that down. I think you're going to see the same mark that you generally see out there when he's

doing press conferences where it's like, I'm going to be factual. I'm not going to, I'm not going to drop below the fray and name, call or do any of this, but it's going to be a test. It's going to be a test to see how annoying and irritating everyone can be to each other. I'm just hoping there's a level of respect folks keep because we the last thing we want to do is stoke more hate out there. Yeah, social media does that already for us and so we're going to try our best to avoid that on this show and in this forum and Sharon you're always great to have these respectful

conversations with. I really appreciate it. I know I'm going to talk to you again soon. You betcha. Have a good one, Ben. All right. 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.