Liberal caucus members are meeting today ahead of the return of Parliament, this time under the direction of a leader known for his high expectations and ambitious agenda.
Sunday’s gathering will likely touch on the big-ticket items Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised to deliver, and give MPs a chance to meet before the pomp and circumstance of this week’s royal visit.
But MPs will also decide whether to empower themselves to turf the newly-elected leader. They will vote on whether to adopt the Reform Act, which would give them the power to trigger a review of Carney’s leadership if he loses their confidence.
CBC News spoke to half a dozen MPs who say they’re pleased with Carney’s performance so far following their election night comeback win and see no reason to oust the new leader anytime soon.
But those MPs, who spoke on the condition they not be named, pointed to the recent experience with former prime minister Justin Trudeau, who ignored calls to resign for months last year, as motivation to vote for the act.
At Issue this week: Prime Minister Mark Carney sets the stage for a throne speech with a mandate letter outlining tasks and priorities for his cabinet. Canada looks beyond the U.S. for allies. And, Liberal MPs will soon decide whether to give themselves the powers to order leadership reviews.
The Liberal’s haven’t adopted the Reform Act before. The decade-old law, championed by Conservative MP Michael Chong, is meant to provide more checks and balances between caucus and party leaders. The Conservatives used the act to push former leader Erin O’Toole out the door in 2022.
In a blog post, Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith said adopting the act shouldn’t be controversial and “it’s past time we adopted measures to reinforce a leader’s accountability to caucus.”
Erskine-Smith was the housing minister in Carney’s first cabinet, but was left out of the prime minister’s new cabinet earlier this month.
Asked last week if he was comfortable with the Reform Act being discussed so early into his tenure, Carney would only say “it’s the law of the land” and the votes will take place.
Carney might also have to address caucus unrest already brewing under the surface about his personnel choices.
Some MPs who CBC News spoke to stressed they also have concerns that the prime minister elevated several people to cabinet whom they view as weak performers in caucus.
They expressed disappointment that Carney is keeping Marco Mendicino as his chief of staff until later this summer, citing mistakes he made as minister and that he isn’t detail-oriented.
Liberals will also elect a chair who will lead future caucus meetings and play an important role connecting backbench voices to the prime minister and his cabinet.
The Conservative caucus is also gathering on the Hill Sunday to game plan ahead of a jam-packed few weeks.
House returns, bills to pass and a G7 to host
Parliament returns Monday after more than six months, with the first order of business being the election of the Speaker of the House.
On Tuesday King Charles will deliver the speech from the throne, which lays out the government’s priorities, marking the new session of Parliament. It’s just the third time the monarch has delivered the speech since since Confederation.
Carney has already outlined his expectations for the coming weeks and months, including the negotiation of a new economic and security relationship with the United States, strengthening ties with reliable trading allies while building up what he calls “one Canadian economy.”
To that end, Carney has also promised to lower interprovincial trade barriers and bring in an income-tax cut by Canada Day.
Speaking with Rosemary Barton Live in an interview airing this morning, House Leader Steven MacKinnon said Carney’s made it clear he wants to get things done at breakneck speed.
“It’s very refreshing,” he said. “We’re going to get at it.”
Mandate letter lays out priorities
Outside of the comings and doings in the House of Commons, there are two major international events on the calendar as Canada enters a new era of foreign relations.
Canada is hosting the G7, a massive undertaking, which will see the leaders of the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Japan travel to Alberta mid-June. The annual NATO summit is being held later in the month in the Netherlands.
Canada’s commitment to meeting the NATO spending benchmark of two per cent of GDP will likely be in the spotlight at both gatherings, just as U.S. President Donald Trump pressures members to start paying five per cent of their national income.
The Liberal platform includes a pledge to increase existing defence spending by $18 billion in order to meet the two per cent spending target.
In a mandate letter sent to his cabinet last week and made public, Carney laid out other broad priorities including building infrastructure projects, “bringing down costs for Canadians,” attracting top talent, cutting government costs and “reinforcing law enforcement.”
Parliament is scheduled to rise on June 20 for the summer break. Carney has promised to table a budget in the fall.
