FIRST READING: Mark Carney’s left-wing enemies - National Post
Prime Minister Mark Carney on Parliament Hill, September 24, 2026. Photo by Photo by Dave Chan / AFP via Getty ImagesArticle contentFirst Reading is a Canadian politics newsletter curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here.
As Prime Minister Mark Carney continues to enjoy a sustained run of popularity, it’s been accompanied by a slew of policies typically only discussed in conservative circles.
These include tax cuts to fuel and income, a massive buildup of the Canadian Armed Forces, the proposed privatization of Canadian airports and new legislation making it easier to push through resource projects and order striking employees back to work.
One of the consequences is that Carney is now facing the kind of activist pushback that was largely unknown to his immediate predecessor, Justin Trudeau. Below, a cursory guide to Carney’s left-wing enemies.
Columnist Jesse Kline keeps you up to date with what’s happening in Israel and the effects of antisemitism on life here in Canada. Friday mornings.
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Channel Israel will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
Environmentalism was Carney’s full-time job only a few years ago. He was the United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance, wrote a whole book about climate policy and ran a climate-based investment consortium that spun apart soon after he left to join Canadian politics.
So it’s been somewhat destabilizing to climate activists that Carney’s agenda has included a number of items they have traditionally despised, such as oil pipelines and ramped-up natural gas production.
Ecojustice is suing the Carney government on the grounds that it isn’t meeting its own carbon emissions targets. The group’s press release made clear it was taking on someone previously considered a friend. “Before entering politics, Carney built an international reputation as one of the world’s most influential voices on climate-related financial risk,” it read.
This week, the godfather of Canadian environmental activism, David Suzuki, said Carney is driving Canada into a “ditch,” adding “I think we’re kind of hooped.”
