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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney laid out a handful of collective core priorities for his new ministers on Wednesday, vowing his government will work to bring down the cost of living and reconfigure some of Canada’s most important international relationships. (See the Mandate Letter Below)
Carney released just one single mandate letter publicly for his entire cabinet, rather than the traditional spate of individual assignments. He said this shows every member of his cabinet shares “a unified mission.”
“This one letter outlines the core priorities of Canada’s new government, reflecting the mandate that Canadians have given to us,” he said.
“The government is charged to build the strongest economy in the G7, an economy that works for everyone, to bring down the cost of living for Canadian families, to keep our country’s security — our communities — safe, to develop a new economic and security relationship with the United States, and to build new partnerships with reliable allies around the world.”
Carney made the comments while speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill after holding a secretive, two-day retreat with his new cabinet in Gatineau, Que.
In a break from the tradition followed by Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, media were not allowed on site at Meech Lake to ask ministers questions — placing the spotlight squarely on Carney this evening.
Several ministers made headlines in the last week by giving conflicting messages to the media on pipeline policy, reporting there would be no budget until fall and declaring that lowering housing prices would be the wrong approach to making homes more affordable.
The letter explicitly directs them to assess how they should proceed to govern through their individual departments.
“Over the coming weeks, I will look to each of you to identify the key goals and measures of success on which to evaluate the results you will achieve for Canadians as a member of the Ministry,” the letter reads.
In the mandate letter, Carney also said he expects each cabinet committee, led by a chair, to “drive and monitor” progress. He said that should be done with oversight from the priorities, planning and strategy committee — chaired by the prime minister — and direction from the full cabinet.
A number of new cabinet committees were announced last week that reflect the government’s focus on shoring up Canada’s sovereignty and improving the quality of life of Canadians.
They include a new “Build Canada” committee, focused on strengthening Canada’s economy and a committee on government transformation and efficiency, aiming to reduce government spending.
Other new groups include a committee on operations and parliamentary affairs, a committee for “quality of life and wellbeing” and a committee on a “secure and sovereign Canada” that aims to reinforce Canadian sovereignty, manage Canada-U.S. relations and advance Canada’s interests around the world.
Carney spoke with journalists after emerging from what his office called a cabinet “planning forum” held at Meech Lake to prepare for the new sitting of Parliament that starts next week.
At the press conference Wednesday, Carney was also asked about Liberal MPs considering adopting Reform Act rules to have the power to trigger a leadership review.
Carney said all recognized parties in Parliament are bound by the Reform Act and that votes will take place at the first caucus meeting on Sunday.
“I observe that this will happen,” Carney said.
The new minority Parliament meets for the first time on Monday to elect a new House Speaker and will watch King Charles III deliver the speech from the throne on Tuesday.
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MARK CARNEY’S MANDATE LETTER
Dear Colleagues:
Last month, Canadians elected a new Government to stand up for our country and to build a strong economy that works for everyone. As members of the 30th Ministry, we must fulfill this mandate with purpose and force. We must meet a series of unprecedented challenges with both a disciplined focus on core priorities and new approaches to governing.
The Context: A Generational Challenge
Canada faces a series of crises. In a more dangerous and divided world, geopolitical risks are rising, threatening our sovereignty. The global trading system – which has helped power Canada’s prosperity for decades – is undergoing the biggest transformation since the fall of the Berlin Wall. At home, our longstanding weak productivity is straining government finances, making life less affordable for Canadian families, and threatening to undermine the sustainability of vital social programs on which Canadians rely.
The new federal Government has an immense responsibility to address these challenges head on with focus, determination, and fundamentally different approaches to governing.
We must redefine Canada’s international, commercial, and security relationships. In the process, we need to develop a defence industrial policy that secures Canada, fulfills our responsibilities to our allies, and helps build our economy.
Canada must build an enormous amount of new infrastructure at speeds not seen in generations. This includes the infrastructure to diversify our trading relationships; to become an energy superpower in both clean and conventional energies; to restore affordability to housing; and to secure our borders and our communities.
The combination of the scale of this infrastructure build and the transformative nature of artificial intelligence (AI) will create opportunities for millions of Canadians to find new rewarding careers – provided they have timely access to the education and training they need to develop the necessary skills.
Government itself must become much more productive by deploying AI at scale, by focusing on results over spending, and by using scarce tax dollars to catalyse multiples of private investment.
Our Priorities
We will focus on seven priorities:
- Establishing a new economic and security relationship with the United States and strengthening our collaboration with reliable trading partners and allies around the world.
- Building one Canadian economy by removing barriers to interprovincial trade and identifying and expediting nation-building projects that will connect and transform our country.
- Bringing down costs for Canadians and helping them to get ahead.
- Making housing more affordable by unleashing the power of public-private cooperation, catalysing a modern housing industry, and creating new careers in the skilled trades.
- Protecting Canadian sovereignty and keeping Canadians safe by strengthening the Canadian Armed Forces, securing our borders, and reinforcing law enforcement.
- Attracting the best talent in the world to help build our economy, while returning our overall immigration rates to sustainable levels.
- Spending less on government operations so that Canadians can invest more in the people and businesses that will build the strongest economy in the G7.
Working Together
We must deliver for Canadians as a team committed to real Cabinet government. The attainment of these objectives will require collaboration and coordination within Cabinet. I expect each Cabinet committee, led by their Chair, to drive and monitor our progress, with oversight from the Priorities, Planning and Strategy Committee, and direction from the full Cabinet.
While fulfilling your core responsibilities as a member of the Ministry, you should identify how specifically you can contribute to these missions. You will be expected and empowered to lead, and to bring new ideas, clear focus, and decisive action to your work. Over the coming weeks, I will look to each of you to identify the key goals and measures of success on which to evaluate the results you will achieve for Canadians as a member of the Ministry.
We will work together with Parliamentarians and the public service. We will work in true partnership with provinces, territories, and Indigenous Peoples. And we will bring together labour, business, and civil society to build a Canada worthy of our children and grandchildren.
In addressing the tasks before us, we must remain true to Canadian values. Canada is a dynamic country that celebrates our diversity, cares for the most vulnerable among us, and strives for a better future for all. The new federal Government will continue the vital work of advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. We will fight climate change. We will uphold the rule of law, protect our democratic institutions, and reinforce the unity of our country.
Canada’s challenges are not small, but we can more than meet them with vigour and a constructive approach. That is how Canadians have built the best country in the world. That is how we will build it to be even better.
In partnership,
The Rt. Hon. Mark Carney,
Prime Minister of Canada
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