Carney looks more like Trudeau with every update...

Full Comment Podcast with Brian Lilley, Ian Lee and Carlo Dade.

What is Mark Carney’s economic playbook?

He’s in Armenia this morning for another international summit where he’s complaining about the US and calling us the most European country once again.

More on that later.

But what plan does this central banker, this economist, have for the Canadian economy?

Based on last week’s fiscal update, it’s more Trudeau like spending and no real grand vision. If you were expecting a change, something to alter from the Trudeau era, you are likely disappointed.

The vibe has changed, the spending remains the same.

This week on the Full Comment Podcast, I interview Ian Lee from Carleton University and Carlo Dade from the University of Calgary. These two economic and trade experts didn’t have much good to say about Carney’s fiscal plan.

If you prefer just listening to podcasts, you can get this one Apple or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

From the official show notes:

They’re blowing windfalls. They’re setting up government agencies to subsidize favoured schemes. They’re dithering on infrastructure. And they shrug at Canada’s uncompetitive tax regime. The policies of Mark Carney’s Liberals, confirmed in last week’s economic update, are increasingly giving off strong Justin Trudeau vibes, as Brian discusses with Ian Lee, professor at Carleton’s Sprott School of Business, and Carlo Dade, at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy. They consider how, a year after getting re-elected on promises to undo the damage of Trudeau’s devastating decade and make Canada more economically resilient, the Liberals seem to have no new playbook. And they warn of more destruction, particularly in the face of U.S. trade negotiations, if they don’t find one soon. (Recorded April 29, 2026)