His minority government may have survived but… Mark Carney’s first budget as prime minister hasn’t exactly unleashed a groundswell of popular support among Canadians. It proposes big spending on big projects, which Carney promised during the election campaign – with even bigger deficits than he promised. It doesn’t deliver any immediate relief for the millions of Canadians struggling to get by, which may explain the generally lukewarm public response to the budget. But if there’s not much enthusiasm for the budget, there was even less for another federal election, so soon after the last one. Or for an election campaign during Christmas and New Year’s. And there’s another reason to be glad the minority government survived this week’s votes in parliament – and it’s also a question of confidence: the Conservative Party’s confidence in its leader. MP Chris d’Entremont is not likely the only conservative who’d rather switch than fight. Before heading back to the polls, Canadians need to know if Pierre Poilievre – his policies, style and tone – is the Conservative Party’s genuinely preferred alternative to Mark Carney and his plan for Canada.
