Harper memoir says he never offered Carney finance ministry, despite prime minister's claims - National Post

Copy URL Facebook Linked In X (Twitter) Loading account options Sign In Manage Account Close account menu Sign Out Prime Minister Mark Carney and former prime minister Stephen Harper share a smile at the the official portrait unveiling ceremony for Harper in Ottawa on Feb. 3, 2026. (Hyungcheol Park/Postmedia) By Stuart Thomson November 3, 2026 at 4:00 a.m. OTTAWA — Former prime minister Stephen Harper says he didn’t offer Mark Carney the job of finance minister in 2012, rebuffing a claim Carney made in an interview last year while he was running for Liberal leader.

In his newly released memoir, Harper writes that he did invite Carney to join his government and suggested that he would be the top candidate for the finance job if it opened up. But at the time, the job was held by Jim Flaherty, who was in his sixth year of what would be an eight-year tenure heading the Finance Department.

“Obviously, I did not offer him the post of minister of finance, as it was then not available. However, I indicated that, if he chose to join the government, he would be the leading candidate should the post come open,” writes Harper in the final chapter of Here for Canada, which was released Tuesday.

In the interview with CBC in February 2025, Carney said that Harper had directly asked him to be his finance minister.

“I have been offered positions in the past. For example, Prime Minister Harper asked me if I would be his finance minister in 2012,” Carney said.

Carney said he refused the job because it wouldn’t have been “appropriate” to “go directly from being governor into elective politics.”

In fact, Harper writes that it was Flaherty who kicked off the discussion in the prime minister’s office about Carney, when he told Harper that Carney “was nurturing political ambitions” that could lead him to run for the leadership of the federal Liberals.

Harper writes that his offer to Carney, who was Bank of Canada governor from 2007 to 2013, was partly an attempt to smoke out Carney’s aspirations.

The possibility of Carney becoming a political opponent was “a serious concern for us,” writes Harper. As the rumours gained steam, Harper’s then chief of staff Nigel Wright suggested that offering him a job would be a win-win scenario for the government because Carney would be hamstrung if he refused.

“The idea was inspired. If Carney accepted the offer, it would be good for the government. But, if he refused, he would have to say it was because the (central bank) governor should not enter partisan politics. Indeed, he could not expect to maintain Liberal aspirations and remain governor for our government,” writes Harper.

“Mark took some time to reflect on the opportunity, ultimately declaring that he should stay out of partisan politics,” writes Harper.

Although the brief section of the book is mostly a rebuke of Carney’s claim about the finance minister overture, Harper does offer some praise for Carney’s performance as Bank of Canada governor.

“Governor Carney was highly effective in his responsibilities and, in addition, provided the Government with solid advice on broader macroeconomic matters,” Harper writes.

It’s the first time Harper has addressed Carney’s claim, although Harper last year did criticize Carney for making certain claims about his role as bank governor during the 2008 financial crisis.

As the federal Liberal leadership race drew to a close in early March 2025, Harper lambasted Carney in a letter to Conservative members, accusing him of trying “to take credit for things he had little or nothing to do with.”

Harper wrote that Carney was significantly inflating his role in the crisis when Carney had said that he had “guided Canada through one of the most turbulent economic periods in modern history.”

Harper said he had listened in “disbelief” to Carney’s claims and accused him of taking credit for the work of Flaherty, who was finance minister during the financial crisis.

“Carney’s experience is NOT the day-to-day management of Canada’s economy during the global financial crisis,” wrote Harper.

Since then, Harper has refrained from criticizing Carney’s government, and their relationship has sometimes even appeared friendly, with the two men sharing a stage on two occasions.

Carney spoke earlier this year when Harper’s official portrait was unveiled in Ottawa, saying that “in a political climate increasingly buffeted by noise, he brought composure, intellect and decisiveness to public life.”

Harper also delivered a keynote speech at the government’s Canada Investment Summit in Toronto in September, where he defended Carney’s decision to walk away from trade talks with the U.S. and praised his efforts to fast-track major energy projects.

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