(first published in the Niagara Independent)

Back in 2005, The Economist magazine dubbed then-prime minister Paul Martin “Mr. Dithers” for Martin’s indecisive leadership during his first 14 months in office. Despite the fact that Martin had been a solid minister of finance under Jean Chrétien’s leadership, he had a history being indecisive and changing his mind on a regular basis. Considering the record of Mark Carney in his first year as prime minister, it seems he has overtaken Martin to become the new Mr. Dithers. 

In a relatively short period of time, Carney’s flip-flops have been epic. Initially, the consumer carbon tax was absolutely essential, gave most Canadians back more than they paid in and had no impact on inflation. After Pierre Poilievre, Conservative Opposition leader, made the carbon tax an unavoidable issue for Carney, it was removed. Once it was removed, Liberals boasted about how gas prices had gone down and how Canadians should be grateful to Carney for getting rid of this tax imposed by their own Liberal government. This was a complete reversal of this position virtually overnight, and a disavowal of all things Liberals had said previously about this tax. Mind you, Carney has retained the industrial carbon tax which will likely be worse than the consumer version and will be hidden from consumers. 

Carney’s flip-flop on Liberal immigration policy was also monumental. When Canadians saw all of the negative impacts of the out-of-control immigration policy the Liberals had implemented, public opinion turned against it. Having become prime minister at this time, Carney started to restrict some elements of immigration, although we are still welcoming more immigrants than we did in the past when our immigration policy was much better managed.  

Fiscal policy was another notable Carney flip-flop. While having won the 2025 election in part because of promoting himself as a careful steward of Canada’s finances, Carney’s first budget was a spendapalooza with a record deficit (other than in COVID years) and spending growth even larger than spendthrift Trudeau had forecast in his last budget. Carney also split spending into so-called “capital” and “operating” funds, which is a ruse used by governments to try to conceal the actual amount they are spending. 

The flip-flopping of Carney on the Iran war has been truly remarkable. Granted, this is a difficult and complex issue, but that is why we pay leaders the big money and where they end up either shining or looking weak. At first, Carney supported Canada’s allies the U.S. and Israel, stating that Iran did indeed need to be prevented from obtaining nuclear weapons. He then reversed himself, saying that the war was in contravention of international law. This was an interesting comment since Iran has consistently broken many laws for decades with little comment from many Western nations. 

Carney’s next comment was that he could not “categorically rule out” Canadian military participation in the Iran conflict. His next statement was that Canada was not involved in the conflict and “will never participate in it.” All of these contradictory positions took place within a couple of weeks. You have to feel badly for our military as they must have wondered one minute if they were going to be deployed or remain cooling their heels the next. 

In recent days, Liberals have been twisting themselves out of shape to try and pretend that bad economic data are the fault of something other than themselves. U.S President Donald Trump is usually to blame for pretty much everything going wrong in Canada these days, but the Iran war seems to have given the Liberals a new scapegoat on which to blame things that are actually a result of their own inept governance. For instance, last week we saw some very bad labour force data published by Statistics Canada showing that 100,000 jobs had been lost in the first two months of 2026 – 84,000 in February alone. Even worse, the vast majority of lost jobs were in the productive private sector while bloated government chugged along nicely. 

When asked about recent problems in the housing market, Liberal Minister Gregor Robertson stated that it was no surprise Canadians were having challenges buying homes because of the conflict in the Middle East. As all Canadians know, our housing woes have been going on for years, and it is almost laughable that anyone in government would try to tie that to a war that’s just into its third week. After news of an attack on a Canadian military base in Kuwait was finally spoken about two weeks after it occurred, Carney attempted to avoid blame by stating that he “wasn’t the only spokesperson in the Canadian government.” Wow – I’m sure his Liberal colleagues enjoyed being thrown under the bus by their leader. 

Some people do a very good job when they are being overseen by competent and effective leaders but are never meant to be in the number one position themselves. That seems to have been the case for Martin who was an excellent finance minister yet a failure in the top job. Carney appears to be shaping up as that kind of person as well, with all of his indecision, flip-flopping viewpoints and tendency to blame others for his own actions. At this crucial time in Canada, this is not the kind of “leader” we need.

Catherine Swift

Catherine Swift is President of the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers & Businesses of Canada (CCMBC). She was previously President of Working Canadians from 2015-2021 & President & CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) from 1995-2014. She was Chief Economist of the CFIB from 1987-1995, Senior Economist with TD Bank from 1983-1987 & held several positions with the federal government from 1976-1983.

She has published numerous articles in journals, magazines & other media on issues such as free trade, finance, entrepreneurship & women business owners. Ms. Swift is a past President of the Empire Club of Canada, a former Director of the CD Howe Institute, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, SOS Children’s Villages, past President of the International Small Business Congress and current Director of the Fraser Institute. She was cited in 2003 & 2012 as one of the most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network & is a recipient of the Queen’s Silver & Gold Jubilee medals.

She has an Honours BA and MA in Economics.

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