Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong is suggesting that Liberal Leader Mark Carney is breaking the “caretaker convention” by pausing his election campaign for the third time to address the intensifying global trade conflict initiated by U.S. tariffs, arguing that Carney is limiting a future government on that file.
The Caretaker Convention was established by Canada’s Privy Council to ensure separation between the ruling party and government operations during an election campaign. This aims to prevent an incumbent from unduly leveraging the benefits of their official position and to avoid limiting a newly elected government. Only necessary business can be transacted under the guidelines.
Chong, an incumbent Conservative MP, says Carney’s decision to convene a meeting with the cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations and national security officials goes far beyond those rules. He said the meeting, which is being held on April 11, could effectively tie the hands of the next government.
“Where is the caretaker convention? Where is the Privy Council Office? Where is our independent public service, providing fearless advice,” Chong wrote in an April 10 social media post.
“Prime Minister, you cannot bind a future government during the writ period. Furthermore, your repeated use of the office of Prime Minister during the writ period amounts to putting your thumb on the scale of the electoral process.”
Carney’s latest campaign pause follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day suspension of his “reciprocal” tariffs on several countries that face rates exceeding his standard 10 percent baseline.
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Although Canada wasn’t listed among the countries facing reciprocal U.S. tariffs, it is still subject to other levies enacted by Trump over the past months. These include a 25 percent tariff on Canadian products not included in the North American Free Trade Agreement, a 10 percent tariff on energy and potash, a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum, and a 25 percent tariff on auto parts.
Trump said the reprieve, which was announced just hours after his global tariff policy took effect on April 9, will reduce the tariff rate to 10 percent for all nations subject to reciprocal tariffs. The sole exception is China, which was slapped with a 145 percent tax on all goods exported to the U.S. following its further retaliatory measures in the ongoing trade conflict.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney makes announcement in Saanichton, B.C., on April 7, 2025. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
The White House has said Canada and Mexico are not subject to the 10 percent baseline tariff, because they are already impacted by the existing 25 percent tariffs related to fentanyl trafficking and border issues. It further stated that if the tariffs on fentanyl are lifted, the two countries will continue to have “preferential treatment” on goods covered by the free trade agreement while other products would have a 12 percent reciprocal tariff.
Carney described Trump’s tariff pause as “a welcome reprieve for the global economy,” during an April 10 campaign stop in Brampton, Ont. He said the “impacts of other tariffs and the threat of future tariffs are already being felt around the world and here at home.”
Carney said his April 11 meeting in Ottawa will focus on a government strategy to deal with the economic turmoil changed by the ever-changing tariffs.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized his Liberal rival for his management of the Canada-U.S. relationship, noting that Carney has “failed” to achieve any tariff relief for Canada, while other nations have managed to secure a tax reprieve.
“Prime Minister Carney boasted he had had a productive call with President Trump and that he had made ‘progress.’ What progress?” Poilievre said during an April 10 campaign stop in Milton, Ont. “There are more American tariffs on Canada today than there were when Prime Minister Carney took office, while dozens of other countries have secured pauses.”
Carney, for his part, has said Poilievre will “never stand up” to Trump, while he himself has experience managing crises that will help him better deal with the situation.
“In a situation like this, you need experience in terms of crisis management, you need negotiating skills,” Carney said.
