Yuan Yi Zhu: Carney’s contemptuous jaunt to EU Parliament before Canada’s

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to journalists outside his office the day after the Liberal's won three byelections, in Ottawa September 1, 2026. Photo by Blair Gable /Postmedia

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When Germany invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King reacted by immediately recalling Parliament, which was not due to sit for another months, and ask for its blessing before declaring war on Germany. On the first day of the special session, King tabled copies of documents relative to the outbreak of the war, so that the House of Commons would know the basis on which war was being declared.

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The result of that debate was a foregone conclusion: most Canadians had by then become resigned to a war, which they would fight without joy but with determination. Two days later, the Commons voted, by an overwhelming majority, to declare war against Germany. For the rest of the war, King would keep the House of Commons informed, even as the government assumed a degree of executive power unprecedented in Canadian history.

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Today, Prime Minister Mark Carney has suggested that Canada is “at war.” Not a shooting war, but about as serious a business for the country’s future as anything in our history. Just like Mackenzie King, he is going to Parliament. But unlike King, he will be going to the European Parliament, which he will attend this month as an honoured guest.

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What about the other Parliament, the one in Ottawa with the pointy tower which, if left unused, ranks as the country’s biggest tourist trap? It was adjourned in June, and is not due to sit until Sept. 21, after Carney’s jaunt to France. In the meantime, Canadians have to rely on foreign newspapers’ accounts of the negotiations, themselves written on the basis of spin from both governments, to figure out what went wrong.

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Carney has, of course, offered his version in PMO-controlled press conferences. But although Donald Trump and his acolytes are serial liars, Carney’s probity is not above reproach. Only in July, he appeared to tell whoppers about the agreement with the United States for the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge. After the Wall Street Journal reported on certain critical details of the deal that contradicted Carney’s own description, he was forced to admit he “should have been clearer” about the agreement’s terms, which included significant concessions to the United States side, concessions which he had denied until an American newspaper reported them.

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But even if Mr Carney was Canada’s version of Honest Abe, he should still go to Parliament before enacted counter-tariffs, the ones currently set to go on Sept. 8. To be clear, I mean, Canada’s Parliament. Responsible government means that a prime minister is accountable to Parliament, and a prime minister only remains in post if he has the confidence of the lower house of Parliament. Given the gravity of the situation, it is natural to expect him to make a statement on the record in a formal setting where the Opposition can question him, and where there are consequences if he “should have been clearer” but was not.