He is at it again. The man who blew a twenty-point lead for the Conservative Party during the last federal election has once more demonstrated that he simply cannot appear moderate or prime ministerial for more than a nanosecond. Clearly, talking sensibly and constructively about the existential threat posed to this country by a deranged American president is not interesting enough for the Conservative leader. Instead, his enthusiasm knows no bounds only when he is commenting on the Ethics Commissioner’s report about prime minister Mark Carney’s business interests. Indeed, Poilievre’s anger and indignation were off the scale at a recent press conference that he himself had called to lambaste both Carney and, apparently, the Ethics Commissioner. This would be laughable if it were not so serious.
The report outlined Carney’s assets and indicated that the Commissioner had approved a blind trust, and people to administer the accountability screen, in order to ensure the prime minister avoids any potential conflicts of interest. Frankly, this is not only not news but nothing extraordinary. Many previous prime ministers and ministers have been individuals of some wealth who were also obliged to put their holdings in blind trusts. The blind trust is a common concept, and one Poilievre has not objected to before now, despite having had ample opportunity to do so during the decade when his party was in power under Stephen Harper. As former Conservative adviser Tim Powers notes, “Screens and blind trusts are essential. But the political threat that accompanies them is not helpful.”[i]
Poilievre’s comments were not simply ignorant or unhelpful. Several of the Conservative leader’s comments were deliberately misleading and some slithered dangerously close to slander. The prime minister was “not upfront or honest” with Canadians about his holdings during the campaign, Poilievre thundered, and now he should “come clean” about the various “falsehoods” he had uttered. What was more, Poilievre announced that once he is in power (such optimism) he will eliminate the “sneaky Carney loophole” as a top priority. In short, as one commentator has pointed out, the overall impression left with the general public is that Mark Carney is, if not a crook, then certainly that he is “up to no good, and he went into politics to line his own pockets, and that, through his investments, his loyalty to Canada is suspect.”[ii]
Poilievre should have stopped and thought about his accusations for more than a nanosecond. There is no logic in accusing individuals who are already wealthy of going into politics to make money. Any time spent in public office is actually going to COST them money. Bay Street lawyer and former Liberal prime minister John Turner certainly knew that, as did his one-time finance critic and former banker Raymond Garneau. And no one ever accused Pierre Trudeau, Paul Martin or Justin Trudeau of going into politics for financial gain. Actually, the only prime minister in the modern era who fits the bill is Brian Mulroney, the former Progressive Conservative prime minister caught with brown paper envelopes full of cash in the infamous Airbus Scandal. And Mulroney, as he himself often liked to point out, came from humble working class roots.
Poilievre’s solution to Carney’s “problem” is both simplistic and dangerous. The prime minister, he declared, should immediately sell off all of his assets. Apparently what is needed in public life are individuals who are financially dependent on their salaries. Put another way, Poilievre is actually encouraging people to enter public life to make money. This is perhaps not surprising, given the relatively low average income of those who were elected in the early years as Reform Party MPs, when Poilievre himself cut his teeth on politics. It would be extremely interesting to compare the average wealth of his current crop of MPs with those of the Liberals.
But there is also an element of hypocrisy to Poilievre’s concern, given that he himself has become reasonably affluent during his time in Ottawa. Most analyses place his personal wealth at roughly $5 million, based primarily on real estate and “financial assets”, the very thing he is decrying about Carney.[iii] And then there is the fact that the Conservative leader has often stressed his support for the free market and capitalism. But this support does not extend to successful capitalists it seems.
We have already witnessed a depressing exodus of women from public life — at federal, provincial and municipal levels of government — due to harassment, bullying and threats of violence. Now Poilievre’s obvious disdain for the corporate sector and the business community writ large is likely to prevent many successful businessmen from even considering entering public life, despite the valuable set of competencies they might bring to the table. (Surely in Carney’s case many voters actually chose him because of his demonstrated financial competence at the highest levels.)
Even more distressing is the fact that the doubts and aspersions that Poilievre is casting on the prime minister will lead to a further decline in public trust, and not just in Mark Carney but in politicians generally. Although two recent well-regarded studies demonstrated that Canadians’ faith in the country’s democratic institutions remains extremely strong, it also found their trust in politicians and political parties is approaching an all-time low. Take the simple question of sources of information. According to one study, “of those surveyed, only 17 per cent considered politicians to be a reliable source of information. That was lower than the 19 per cent who trusted celebrities, and the 23 per cent who trusted independent bloggers and social media influencers.”[iv]
Needless to say, in the current existential crisis it is even more important for politicians at all levels of government to demonstrate they are both credible and trustworthy. Pierre Poilievre has done neither.
[i] Tim Powers. “Hurly-burly Nonsense Around Carney’s Assets is Standard Politicking – And a Shame”. Hill Times. July 21, 2025.
[ii] John Turley-Ewart. “Taking Cheap Shots at Carney’s Business Ties”. Globe and Mail. July 21, 2025.
[iii] https://www.finance-monthly.com/2025/03/pierre-poilievres-net-worth-in-2025-the-future-leader-of-canada/
[iv] https://www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/03/03/canadian-democracy-remains-strong-but-trust-is-low-in-politicians-and-parties-reports/452556/
