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OTTAWA — Some Liberals are defending Prime Minister Mark Carney’s leadership style, saying he can be tough when needed but has always stayed respectful in their experience.
Carney’s caucus management has been under close scrutiny ever since a report by the Toronto Star came out alleging he has lashed out at caucus members — with one saying he’s yelled at them — or made them feel like he is not interested in their concerns.
Ministers and MPs said this week they have never heard Carney yell at them or others.
Speaking on his way to question period, Charlottetown MP Sean Casey said the prime minister can be “tough when appropriate” but “not tough for the sake of being tough.”
“He has a good way with people, I would absolutely say that, and it’s genuine,” he said.
“He’s a no bullsh-t kind of person. If he says it, he means it.”
Élisabeth Brière, MP for Sherbrooke, said “no, never” when asked if she had ever heard Carney yell. But she said the 61-year-old former central banker has high standards for his caucus.
“Of course, he’s demanding,” she said. “As prime minister, you have to be.”
The National Post has reported that Carney rapidly imposed his leadership style upon taking office last year. Insiders described him as running a tight ship, starting meetings on time, and not being afraid to call out underperforming members of his entourage.
As one person described it at the time, Carney “does not suffer fools.”
Montreal MP Anthony Housefather said he has never seen Carney act anything other than “respectfully” with caucus and that he appreciates the “back-and-forth” with him.
Winnipeg MP Doug Eyolfson was mentioned in the Toronto Star piece as having been told to not come to Carney with his concerns over the lack of federal response to controversial Alberta legislation that creates a two-tier health care system in the province.
Eyolfson acknowledged he had a disagreement with Carney but did not make light of it.
“I’m glad that we can disagree and still have a good working relationship,” he said.
Other examples cited by the Toronto Star included Nova Scotia MP Jaime Battiste receiving a rebuke for raising concerns over the government’s changes to the Indian Act and Laval MP Angelo Iacono asking Carney to visit his riding with Carney insisting he’d already been.
Culture Minister Marc Miller dismissed the report as “gossip,” while Whitby MP Ryan Turnbull said he had never seen Carney act in the ways that were described in the article.
“He respects caucus, he regularly meets with us, and I think he would have a lot of trust in our caucus,” said Turnbull.
Speaking in Shawinigan, Que., on Friday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said that Carney has “inspired” Canadians, judging by a recent Postmedia-Léger poll that found the Liberal government now has the support of half of all Canadians.
The last time the federal government topped 50 per cent in support was over two decades ago, when Prime Minister Jean Chrétien said Canada would not take part in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reached 49 per cent in the polls in 2016, during his first year in the top job.
“Listen, it’s rare in the history of the country where you have a leader of a party, a prime minister who can create unanimity,” Champagne said in French, adding that the polls prove “the extent to which people appreciate the work of Mr. Carney.”
Government House leader Steven MacKinnon claimed that while Carney has “great expectations,” the Liberal caucus is united on the government’s objectives.
Despite complaints from anonymous sources, Casey said the mood in caucus has improved since Trudeau’s tenure.
“Everybody loves a winner.”
National Post
calevesque@postmedia.com
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