Rob Breakenridge: Mark Carney’s (foolish) summer vacation in Italy

Prime Minister Mark Carney tours the Roberts Bank Port in Tsawwassen, B.C., July 30, 2026. Photo by Nick Procaylo /Postmedia

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Canadians surely don’t begrudge our elected leaders — including even the prime minister — some time off now and then.

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A summer vacation, or at least some down time with family, is not something that would be controversial or of concern to most Canadian voters.

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However, the when and where do matter. This prime minister, who has shown a surprising amount of political acumen for a rookie prime minister, has failed on both counts with his August Italian getaway.

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According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Mark Carney is “on a reduced schedule in the week of Aug. 10,” and will be in Italy “for personal commitments until Aug. 17.”

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Now, in fairness, it is a challenge for a head of government to schedule a vacation. As we’ve seen, crises can arise at any time and there’s no way to know in advance whether an expected quiet week will indeed remain as such.

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For the prime minister, it’s always going to be a working vacation to some extent. As the PMO stresses, Carney “is in close contact with his team and officials on several priorities.”

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Furthermore, it’s not as though the government grinds to a halt when the prime minister is on vacation. While Carney relaxes in beautiful Tuscany, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc has been in Washington, D.C. this week meeting with his U.S. counterpart ahead of next week’s tariff deadline.

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That deadline of course, did not just suddenly appear out of nowhere this week. And that’s what’s so bizarre and tone-deaf about Carney’s decision here: it flies in the face of his government’s own messaging and framing around some key issues.

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As Carney himself has stated, this is a pivotal moment for Canada and for Canada-U.S. relations, specifically. There has been a constant emphasis on just how high the stakes are for our country in navigating and meeting this challenge.

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It was July 20 that U.S. President Donald Trump announced new tariffs targeting Canadian imports, which would take effect after 30 days. While Carney might have wished for a quieter summer, those hopes were dashed by Trump’s agenda and this latest curveball.

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As a prime minister who has built a political brand as the leader to guide Canada through what he has called a “once-in-a-lifetime crisis,” it’s hard to understand why Carney would see any point within that 30-day window as down time, let alone the final week before the deadline.

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On top of that, there’s the questionable optics of leaving the country for this vacation.

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“This summer, we choose Canada!” is the proud declaration that greets visitors to the government website for the “Canada Strong Pass.” The pass, of course, was introduced by the Carney government last year in response to Canadians “uniting to find new ways to discover and celebrate our beautiful country.”