The Ben Mulroney Show - The Real cost of the Carbon Tax on the Economy is alarming

Episode Date: March 13, 2025

Guests and Topics: -Mark Carney says a carbon tax on large polluters won't get passed down to consumers... The Parliamentary Budget Office disagrees Guest: Michelle Rempel Garner, Conservative MP in Alberta 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

BedMGM, authorized gaming partner of the NBA, has your back all season long. From tip-off to the final buzzer, you're always taken care of with a sportsbook born in Vegas. That's a feeling you can only get with BedMGM. And no matter your team, your favorite player, or your style, there's something every NBA fan will love about BedMGM. Download the app today and discover why BedMGM is your basketball home for the season. Raise your game to the next level this year with BedMGM. Download the app today and discover why BetMGM is your basketball home for the season. Raise your game to the next level this year with BetMGM. A sportsbook worth a slam dunk. An authorized gaming partner of the NBA.

BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. Must be 19 years of age or older to wager. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have any questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Want to own part of the company that makes your favorite burger? Now you can.

With partial shares from TD Direct Investing, you can own less than one full share, so expensive stocks are within reach. Learn more at td.com slash partial shares. TD, ready for you. Happy Thursday Canada. Thank you so much for joining us on the Ben Mulrooney show. Whether you're listening on radio, on podcast, or on a streaming app, we say thank you. We say welcome 11 a.m. Eastern time on Friday. That will be the moment that Mark Carney is sworn in as our 24th Prime Minister. He will be announcing his cabinet as well. This will all take place at Rideau Hall

where Governor General Mary Simon will orchestrate this swearing in. We congratulate the new Prime Minister. I personally think that all Canadians should hope that he is a responsible steward and is able to improve the lives of Canadians who have not had the easiest go over the past a few years. We can argue, you know how I would normally follow up those questions, but in this moment, as he's about to ascend to the leadership of the country, I think it is incumbent upon me to wish him luck, right? I never want anyone leading our country to fail because

if he fails then we fail. So I do want him to succeed and then I do hope we go into an election and there is a change of government. That's all I will say about that. But as we know Mark Carney, kind of allergic to the press, so when he does, we take note. Here is Mark Carney saying that he's ready to sit down with Donald Trump. We understand I understand I respect President Trump's concern for American workers and American families. We respect his concern about fentanyl. It's an issue for us here in Canada as well. And that's why the Canadian government moved very quickly with a comprehensive response that has had a huge, huge impact in terms of controlling that issue and getting on top of that issue much better.

We are ready to sit down with the Americans, with the U.S. government. I'm ready to sit down with President Trump at the appropriate time under a position where there's respect for Canadian sovereignty. And we're working for a common approach, a much more comprehensive approach for trade. I mean, that second part could have just as easily been said by Pierre Poliev. There's nothing that's, every Canadian believes that. And I'm glad he said it. He sort of downplayed and poo-pooed fentanyl as an issue in Canada on the campaign trail. And now he's talking about it

as the important issue that it is. So I'm glad he had late stage conversion on that front. But let's also forget, we don't know who's gonna be in cabinet yet, right? We do know that it will be made up of the current liberal caucus, which means the same people got us into the mess that we've been in for the past 10 years will still be in government. And I think that is an important thing to note. However, so we don't know who's going to be in cabinet, but we do know that currently the finance minister is Daniel LeBlanc and he is in Washington today with Doug Ford.

Doug Ford did all the heavy lifting to get the Americans to take note of the issues that are being caused by the tariffs. Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary called Doug Ford. They set a meeting for today. Daniel LeBlanc, it will be joining him in that meeting. And here's what Howard Lutnick said about, well, we were told it was an issue with Fentanyl. We were told it was the border. But every now and then they let their guard down and tell us what it's really about. Donald Trump doesn't like American cars manufactured in Canada. Trump doesn't like American cars manufactured in Canada. Why are American cars made in Canada? Why are they made in Canada?

The president just doesn't make sense. Why are American cars made in Canada? Those jobs should be in America. And that's what the president thinks. And that's what he says. And that's what he's going to execute. So the key point is Canada is going to have to work with us to really integrate their economy.

And as the president said, they should consider the amazing advantages of being the 51st state of the United States of America. OK, just for context, Mr. Lutnick, the Ford Motor Company of Canada was founded in Walkerville, Ontario on August 17th, 1904. The first car built in Canada was in 1904. It was the Model C. In 1953, the Oakville assembly plant opened. In 1967, Ford opened another assembly plant in Talbotville, Ontario. That was the St. Thomas assembly plant.

In 67, that assembly plant was in full production. These are Canadian cars, sir. These are Canadian cars, and they've been built here since you had hair. So do us a favor and just stop trying to create a reality out of fiction. Because when you sit down with a Doug Ford, he's not, and with the doors closed and no cameras there, the bluster and the bombast and the BS won't solve the problem of the stock market cratering because of this decision. This foolish, foolhardy decision to lay tariffs and as Ben Shapiro said, play the hokey pokey, putting them on, taking them off, putting them on, taking them off.

That will not solve that problem. And the potential for a recession caused by this tomfoolery is on the horizon. And none of this bluster and fiction that you're putting out in the world is going to matter in a closed door meeting with Canadian representatives. So I'll say it again, Howard Lutnick, these cars have been produced in Canada for 70 years.

Get your head out of your butt, because enough is enough, this is stupid. And there is increasing pushback on the nonsense being spouted by certain members of the administration. Here's a Fox Business host pushing back on Howard Lutnick downplaying the fears around tariffs. Let's start again. Let's take a step back and remember inflation, right?

Inflation comes from a government printing too much money. The Biden administration having a $2 trillion deficit. You don't get inflation from having a tariff because what a tariff says is if it's made in Europe if it's made Foreign it costs it might cost a little more but that which is made in America does not cost more this Concept of how about we buy American steel we buy American aluminum this US steel You know it this new's new core, right? There's Cleveland Cliffs, we make plenty of steel in America, we make plenty of steel in America.

Let's strengthen that. Domestic producers can't keep up with demand. The supply is limited, demand is strong. The price is going up. Some foreign steel will go up for sure, but then they will build those plants in America. We will have our plant production in America is only operating at 50, 55 percent. That's got to get up to 80 percent. When's that going to happen, sir?

You can't just divine a plant, be it an aluminum or steel plant or an automotive plant. Those things take time. It's going to take at least five years to build an automotive plant. If you if you decided on it today, five years, which means Donald Trump will be a memory in terms of presidential history before any of it will before you see the fruits of this tariff war. So five years, that is that what you want to do, you want to paralyze the automotive sector for five years so that you can get a plant built in the United States? And steel and aluminum, that goes into cars too. How long until you, we have to be building those,

we have to be making more here. How long does it take to ramp up that production? You've gotta have the raw materials in order to do that. Where's it going to come from? How are you going to make it? How are you going to ramp up this production? How long is it going to take? Yes, it would be great for your country if you produced more of what you need. Sure, how long is it going to take, sir? Because you promised the American people that there would be no downtime, there would be no dip in the quality of their life or and cost would not go up. Everything was supposed to come down and

on this front you are failing them and you're trying to reinvent the the the policy and the promise that you made. And when you're losing Stuart Varney, who in Trump 1.0 was as close to an ally that Donald Trump had in the media, when you're losing him this early in the game, that is not a good sign. It is not a good sign. And I've said it before, we in Canada are prepared for the pain that we are going to endure because of this. You promised your people paradise. So the expectations are completely different from one side of the border to the other. Welcome back to the Ben Mulroney show. Thank you so much for spending time with us. And yes, I know I foist my opinions on

you every day of the week. It's called the Ben Mulroney show after all. So you get what you pay for. But that doesn't mean I don't want to hear from you. And so we set up an opinion line at 18337241811. You can call in any time and let us know your thoughts on the show. They could be good, they could be bad, they could be indifferent. But just warning you, if you have an indifferent opinion, it probably will not get played on our Friday show. So we know that Mark Carney will very short, in very short order, become our next Prime Minister. And he's gonna have a lot, there are already a lot of questions

that he's not answering, but even more questions are coming up now that the parliamentary budget office has put out its assessment of his plan for an oil and gas emissions cap. And the PBO says that production would need to decline by nearly 5% to meet the cap, would grow 11.1% without it.

And the difference between these two scenarios is $20 billion less in GDP and almost 55,000 fewer full-time jobs. To discuss this and a few more issues around the soon-to-be Prime Minister of Canada, we're joined by Michelle Rempel-Garner, Conservative MP in Alberta. Michelle, welcome for the very first time to the Ben Mulroney show. Thanks for having me, Ben. So this plan of Mark Carney, it's going to hit quite literally

close to home for you as an MP from Alberta. Absolutely. But you know, our economy across the country is so interconnected as particularly, particularly now that we're seeing in light of the American tariff threat. You know, a strong Alberta is a strong Canada. And the parliamentary budget officer report that you just mentioned, it proves that some of these liberal policies, particularly this cap on oil and gas development, is going to

cost the entire Canadian economy over $20 billion and over 54,000 jobs across the country. So it's these types of policies that the liberals have kind of become known for over the last decade that we need to put a stop to, particularly given the economic crisis that the country finds itself in. Yeah, if this is a type of thing that they're putting in the window,

it should be concerning to so many Canadians who know, as you just mentioned, the interconnectedness of it all, that if there's less oil and gas out there, it's going to cost more, and that's going to get passed on in one way, shape, or form, ultimately to people like you and me. Absolutely, and I think the last few weeks have really highlighted how important it is for

the country to have a stable, secure supply of energy, which frankly the Liberals have worked against for the last decade. And if we're going to be serious about protecting Canada's sovereignty, we have to protect both our economy and our energy supply. So these types of policies, which like the Liberals are still out cheerleading today, they need to go. Yeah. And well, it sure would be nice if Mark Carney stood in front of the media or sat with the

media to answer the questions that we have on this PBO report, for example, and a myriad other issues. But he doesn't do that. And yesterday he was in Hamilton, Ontario to stand shoulder to shoulder with the steel and aluminum workers. And CHCH News from out there said an auspicious start for PM designate Mark Carney No questions taken from reporters and his handlers told the camera operator pooling the event to shut off sound when he was inside Talking to workers now

I remember on great many reports that popped up on my Twitter feed of very similar behavior on the Liberal leadership campaign trail so at least he's being consistent. You know I'm just sitting here shaking my head because the news outlet that you mentioned it's a local it's a local outlet it's not known for gotcha reporting and you know he had just done this photo op where he looked kind of ridiculous in a helmet to be honest with you, this could have been an easy opportunity for him to look relatable, talk about workers, and you know he just kind of like linked into this black motorcade and drove away. That's not the transparency that we need from

somebody who has a lot of questions to be answered to the Canadian public about for example some of his personal financial assets, potential conflicts of interest, his stance on past policies that he's championed, like, you know, everything that we've just talked about today, the lack of support for Canada's energy sector working against it, in fact. So you're absolutely right, Ben, like this, he needs to be on he needs to answer some questions. And, you know, if you're going to be Prime Minister of Canada, you have to be able to do something like manage a basic scrum. Yeah well Michelle you know because the House has been prorogued there's no reason for you to be in Ottawa I have to assume that you're

spending even more time in your riding. What are you hearing from voters about sort of the rise of Mark Carney and you know there's a eco-spol and you can take eco-spol for what it's worth but there's an eco-spol that's suggesting suggesting that the liberals under Mark Carney could win as many as 11 seats in Alberta. So what is I'm I'm feeling a dissonance between the the numbers and what I feel is the reality on the ground. But you're actually on the ground. So so so tell me your sense. Yeah. So I mean, like that poll through you mentioned, he he even removed that poll because

it was but you know, let even removed that poll because it was... But let's forget about polls and talk about exactly what you just said, what people are saying. The reality is that the cost of housing and rent hasn't magically decreased in the last eight weeks. Crime hasn't gotten better. In fact, it's gotten worse. People still can't afford groceries. So all of those problems that the liberals

really had a big hand in creating over the last decade are still there. And now the liberals are asking for another four years and hoping that people just forget that they helped cause these problems and they're trying to blame it on other factors. And so what I'm hearing is people are like, we need to have a real plan to change the economic conditions in Canada. That's why I do think that in spite of the Liberals trying to censor him by shutting down parliament, Conservative Party leader Pierre Polyev has been out communicating a real plan, our Canada First Plan to do things like secure the borders, make our economy more competitive. He's been lauded in the media for having a concrete plan, which Carney does not.

And that's what I'm hearing is people are just tired of, you know, 10 years of liberal economic ruination and they want some change. So you know, it sounds like we're going to be in a federal election soon. And it's that consistent plan to address the core issues that Canadians are facing like housing affordability crime, which tariffs admittedly are making worse. But we have to address those issues too. And that's what we're going to continue focusing on as a party. I'm speaking with Michelle Rempel-Garner, Conservative MP in Alberta. And look, if there are voters out there who are willing to give a good faith look to Mark Carney, one of the

reasons I think he's more palatable to them is because he presents as very different from Justin Trudeau, at least in presentation, right? He's the substance where Justin was the sizzle and he's deliberate in what he says and he's got a resume that Justin did not have. However, there are similarities that irk me to my core and it's the self-righteous environmental leadership, the performative leadership that seems very consistent from our 23rd prime minister into our 24th, it was tweeted by Brian Pasifum of The Sun that Mark Carney flew to Toronto from Ottawa

aboard a private plane. And while he was meeting with Doug Ford in Toronto, he did a quick hop from Toronto to Hamilton so that he could avoid, I mean, I don't know if it was the purpose of avoiding 45 minutes on the highway in traffic. But again, it's very much do as I mean, I don't know if it was the purpose of avoiding 45 minutes on the highway in traffic. But again, it's very much do as I say, not as I do. One set of rules for you and one set of rules for me.

And it's that self-righteousness of what I am doing is so important that the rules that I'm foisting on you cannot apply to me. Well, you know, you talk about sizzle and substance. I think it's Justin Trudeau was the icing on a cake of economic disastrous policies. You know, Mark Carney was the cake. He was that substance. He was the liberals economic advisor for several years beginning back in the pandemic.

You'll remember he was like the build back better guy. So, you know at the heart of a lot of this inflationary spending, he's being held to account for those types of decisions, similar types of decisions in the UK by the UK media. And, you know, he's been the liberal senior economic adviser. So it's an you're right. Like it is, as I say, not what I do. But it's also like this is a this guy was the architect on a global basis

of a lot of these policies that have held Canada back, like his Net Zero Banking Alliance, which has completely fallen apart. So, you know, there's an article out today in one of Canada's major newspapers that talks about how he based, Mark Carney single-handedly defunded Canada. And, you know, he might not feel that impact because like to your point, he jets around, he's extremely wealthy. He hangs out with a lot of elite people. But at the end of the day, my constituents need to buy food. They need to be able to afford rent. And I don't think this guy understands that. So there's a big contrast to be made there for sure.

Michelle Rempel-Garner, thank you so much for joining us on the Ben Mulroney Show and come back anytime. Thanks for having me. Survivor has been calling me for a long time. These 18 strangers have answered the call for the adventure of a lifetime. My parents would always say, you're going to be the first one set home. I can do this.

I'm physically fit. I'm mentally fit. They must learn to adapt or they'll be voted out. Being a physicist, playing men's hockey, this does not scare me at all. When my kids watch this, I want them to look at me and say, I'm proud of him. Survivor, new season Wednesdays on Global. Stream on StackTV.