Class is in session? Carney, Poilievre trade education-themed jabs while debating fuel taxes
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With talk of economics lessons and passing exams, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre engaged in a heated debate Wednesday that might have been pulled from a university seminar.
Instead the sharp exchange took place during question period — the first time the two faced off in the House since the Liberals secured a majority government.
The debate also came on the heels of Poilievre remarking in an interview with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation this week that Carney is “very badly educated in economics.”
While the substance of the debate was centred around taxes on gas, Carney poked fun at Poilievre’s comments on the prime minister’s educational bona fides while the Conservative leader questioned whether Carney has “read his own budget.”
Poilievre started question period criticizing the Liberals’ recent move to temporarily suspend the excise tax on gasoline and diesel. The Conservatives had previously called for such a tax holiday, but went further saying the government should also lift the GST on fuel.
“Why doesn’t he follow our full plan to reduce gas prices?” Poilievre said.
WATCH | Carney pauses fuel tax:
Carney pauses fuel tax after landing majority government
Prime Minister Mark Carney kicked off his new majority government by announcing the temporary suspension of a federal tax on gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel, but experts say the expected 10 cents per litre in savings may not help much with prices still rising.
Carney responded by arguing that going further would “substantially increase the deficit, something [Poilievre] is regularly against.”
“This government can count,” Carney quipped as he finished his response.
Poilievre said that the Liberals had already blown the federal deficit out of proportion — the Nov. 4 budget projected a deficit of $78.3 billion for the fiscal year that ended this past March and a more than $65-billion deficit for the current fiscal year.
“Does he even read his own budget?” Poilievre shot back. He said the prime minister had “made a career” out of causing inflation.
Carney, who holds a PhD in economics, responded by touting his educational background — a cheeky reference to Poilievre’s earlier comments.
“One thing I’ve learned in my economics education is you’ve got to study history and you’ve got to look at numbers,” Carney said, before arguing that inflation was held to target rates during his time as the governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England.
In keeping with the education theme, Poilievre said that Carney must have taken the “wrong lessons.”
“I feel like I’m in the presence of students,” the prime minister countered, saying Poilievre “wouldn’t pass the exam” with his answers.
Carney also tossed a veiled jab at Poilievre losing MPs to the Liberal caucus in recent months.
“To learn a lesson you have to have ears to hear. There are some on the benches opposite who have been listening,” he said, before turning around to glance at the government benches.
Carney largely owes his new majority to five opposition MPs — four of them former Conservatives — who have joined the Liberals.
The prime minister announced the temporary suspension of the excise tax on Tuesday. The move means that the cost per litre will drop by 10 cents for gasoline and four cents for diesel starting on Monday and lasting until Labour Day.
Poilievre had said earlier this month that the excise tax and GST should be paused until the end of 2026.
The measure comes as gas prices have spiked due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The current national average for a litre of gas is $1.83 as of Wednesday afternoon, up from just over $1.26 before the United States and Israel launched their attack on Iran and oil stopped flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of the world’s oil transits through the strait from states in the Persian Gulf including Iran, but that passage has been all but shut by the threat of Iranian drones and mines since the conflict began.
