When a body is discovered 10 miles out to sea, it sparks a mind-blowing police investigation. There's a man living in this address in the name of deceased. He's one of the most wanted men in the world. This isn't really happening. Officers finding large sums of money. It's a tale of murder, skullduggery and international intrigue. So who really is he? I'm Sam Mullins, and this is Sea of Lies from CBC's Uncover. Available now. This is a CBC Podcast.
It's a few days after the election, and you can tell something is up. The photographers, the security guards, lined up on Spark Street, just a block away from the Prime Minister's office. The activity has caught the attention of teacher Fiona McGrath, visiting with her eighth grade class from Toronto's St. Anthony School. Well, we were hoping we'd see a little bit of something. We thought this is an interesting time to be here. We've been talking a lot about it in class these last few months.
Just because with Grade 8 history, we talk about the threat of annexation in the 1860s, and so it was a perfect... collision of past and present. And we are just outside the building where the Prime Minister is supposed to do a news conference today. You're hoping the kids catch a glimpse of him, perhaps? That would just be the icing on the cake before we leave today. get their wish. Mark Carney waves as he walks by. It was really cool.
The timing was perfect, and the kids, it was a nice surprise for them. To see it with my friends was quite an experience. Maybe this guy could do a little bit better than what the other one did. Whether Mark Carney can do that is something a lot of Canadians will be watching to see. I'm Catherine Cullen, and this week on the House, we've got a primer on how this new Parliament will work, especially when the Conservative leader doesn't have a seat.
Plus, our strategist panel is back with mixed feelings about the results. And we speak to MPs from the three main national parties. Will the Conservatives do some soul-searching? Should the NDP blame Trump? or their own approach? And are the Liberals looking for floor-crossers? But first, what Mark Carney's calendar tells us about Canada's future. The House is now in session.
So this week kicks off a new two-month marathon for Prime Minister Mark Carney, and at a news conference Friday morning, he shared a big chunk of his to-do list. I had a very constructive call with President Trump and we agreed to meet next Tuesday in Washington. Carney says the focus of that meeting is on both trade pressures and the broader future of the economic and security relationship. But, he says...
Don't expect miracles. We are not, do not expect white smoke out of that meeting. There'll be white smoke probably later somewhere else in the world this month. But do not expect that. Once he's wrapped in Washington, onto assembling his front bench of ministers. Can we expect your cabinet to be larger than your previous one and will François-Philippe Champagne remain as finance minister? Did he ask you to ask that question? Champagne and the rest of us won't have to wait too long.
to find out. We will begin to set out that new path for Canada with a new cabinet to be sworn in on the week of the 12th of May and the recall of Parliament on May 26th. Keeping track of all those dates? We will have the privilege of welcoming His Majesty King Charles III, who will deliver Canada's speech from the throne on May 27th. Her Majesty the Queen will join this visit. So the day Parliament reconvenes, the king touches down. He'll deliver the speech from the throne the next day.
something we haven't seen a monarch do in nearly half a century. Then, Parliament's open for business. with all the challenges a minority situation brings. Mr. Carney, will you be pursuing a formal governing pact of any kind with the NDP? No. Short answer, no. And why not? Why? Even if he doesn't opt for any formal support, Carney will still need another party's votes to pass a budget.
which is also expected before a summer break. And come June, Kearney will be jetting off once again, first to host the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, starting June 15th, which is expected. expected to include a visit from Donald Trump. Then, the PM will likely head to the Netherlands for a NATO summit the very next week. And don't forget, he's promised to table some key legislation.
by Canada Day. We will remove federal barriers to internal trade by July 1st to help unleash the full potential of Canada. Plus, one more date to keep an eye on. when Pierre Polyev might get back in the House of Commons via a by-election. Carney could draw that process out for months to make life harder for the Conservatives. But he says that's not the plan.
I've already indicated to Mr. Poliev that if it's the decision of him and the Conservative Party to trigger, if I can put it that way, a by-election, I will ensure that it happens as soon as possible. nothing straight. Okay, so we have got a busy couple of months coming up, and we have a lot of questions, too, about how this new parliament will function.
To answer some of them, we have Aaron Wary. He's a senior writer in the Parliament Hill Bureau. Hey, Aaron. Thanks for being here. Hey, Catherine. So we're going to put you on the clock, Aaron, and see how quickly you can get through some of these questions. We're starting with one that someone sent in to askcbc.ca. Anne Haddock wrote...
How much of a difference does it make that there's only a three-seat difference between a minority and majority liberal government? Yeah, so it's definitely one of the larger minority governments we've ever had in Canada. And that presumably gives, you know, Mark Carney a stronger hand. He's probably got some different options about getting things through Parliament. but it's still not a majority. And that's a big difference.
You know, if he had a majority, he'd be guaranteed to get things through parliament. And he'd also be relatively guaranteed of having four years of being in government. So at this point. that's still a pretty big difference no matter how many seats he has. Okay. There were a lot of questions about what happens to Conservative leader Pierre Polyev given that he lost his seat. Eliane Bonda in Ottawa asks,
Can he still be the leader of the opposition? So he can't. The leader of the opposition is a parliamentary function. And so you have to be a member of the House of Commons. And so if he wants to regain that title, he's going to have to win a seat. And in the meantime, the Conservatives are going to have to find an interim leader to fill that position. And that leads to our next question from Hannah Jeffery, who wants to know whether Polyev can regain a seat.
via by-election and how that would work. And we now know a member of Conservative Caucus is ready to step aside. Yeah, so we now know that Damian Couric, the Conservative MP-elect for Battle River Crowfoot... One of the safest conservative ridings in Canada is going to step aside. Pierre Polyev will run in a by-election to fill that spot.
And we also now know from Mark Carney that he is not going to rag the puck, so to speak, on this. He could have up to six months to call that by election, but Mark Carney says he'll call it at the earliest. possible opportunity. In the meantime, can Polyev still live in Stornoway, which is the official residence of the leader of the opposition? Yeah, so that's a bit unclear. You know, officially, the residence at Stornoway is for the leader of the opposition.
And so presumably Pierre Polyev can't stay there. But given the timing, I would say it's unclear whether people are actually going to make him move out. Interesting. What about Mark Carney? There's been some question about where he will live too. What do we know? Yeah, he will go into Rideau Cottage, which is the residence on the grounds of Rideau Hall that Justin Trudeau lived in. 24 Sussex is still in a state of disrepair, let's say. That's pretty mildly. Yes, I'm being nice to 24.
And so we now know that Mark Carney will be moving into Rideau Cottage for the foreseeable future. Okay. Let's talk about the NDP, no longer a recognized party in the House of Commons. You need 12 seats for that, and they won seven. Gene Witwicky sent this question in.
What does it mean when a political party has no party status? Yeah, so they don't have recognized party status in the House of Commons. And that means that they won't have some of the opportunities that are afforded to recognize parties. They won't have a normal allotment of questions and question period. They won't have seats on committees. They won't have opposition days and they won't have. some of the extra money for research and staff that recognized parties usually get.
Yeah, so just harder to be relevant to the conversation. All right, we have seconds left in that four minutes. And one more question from Elizabeth Middleton. Could NDP MPs cross the floor? and give the Liberals a majority. Yeah, so this is the big subject of speculation in our business and in this town. It's certainly possible. It's hard to know whether it's actually going to happen. Those kind of conversations happen a lot in parliaments, and given...
Going back to that first question, given that the... The space between a minority and a majority is so small here. It's definitely something that is a tempting possibility, but we really have no way of knowing at this point whether it's actually going to happen. Less than four minutes. Amazing. Thank you for your time today, Aaron Worry. Anytime, Catherine. So, some surprising results on election night. A bit of a mixed bag for many of the parties.
What does it all mean? To help us understand our strategist panel, Marcy Serks is a former senior advisor to Justin Trudeau, now Chief Strategy Officer at Compass Rose. Kate Harrison is a conservative strategist and vice chair at Summa Strategies. And George Soule is the former director of communications for the NDP. Welcome back everybody. Hello. Good to be back.
I want to start with a very simple but maybe not so simple question. How are you all feeling? George, you were the one who was out on the road with the campaign at the end, I believe. How you doing? Yeah, everyone talks about the late nights they had and they were up till 5am. Well, so was I, but BC time. Yeah, how am I feeling? I think it's still coming together. I think personally...
You know, there's lots to build from where we're at. And so I'm feeling, I think, more positive than some of your listeners might think. I am feeling the epitome of the winner's dilemma, which is that the tasks ahead are daunting, but that it is a great problem to have because the work of governing has already begun.
Kate, you called it a mixed bag, mixed emotions. I don't know that any of us would necessarily say we're leaving the election feeling elated for the conservatives. I think some really important advancements in terms of the voter coalition.
Losing the leader's seat is devastating. So that's the big cloud that hangs over the Tories from my perspective. I'm going to leave the discussion about the Liberals to the end because I want to talk about governing and some very sort of forward-looking stuff. I want to start with the Conservatives, Kate. As you say, devastating to lose the leader's seat. You did not form government. What does the Conservative Party need to change?
It's a great question. I think a lot of conversations are going to happen to that effect are happening and will happen when caucus meets for the first time. We need to look at doubling down on what worked well. And what worked well, from my perspective, was reaching out to what I would say is the new Conservative Voter Coalition. This is young people.
It's blue collar workers, it's people in the suburbs that may have voted NEP in the past, but are currently voting with the Conservatives, or did at least for now. In terms of what to change, I actually think it just needs to be a more direct and deliberate effort on keeping that new coalition together and nurturing it, which is not going to be easy. This has to be repeated in order to be successful.
But I think that you do that through creative policy. You do that through continuing to engage those communities directly. And frankly, by leveraging people in your caucus that do have the ability to connect and relate to those communities. I mean, there's been some suggestion that maybe in some spaces the conservatives should play a little bit nicer, perhaps with their provincial cousins. We do see more conservative MPs doing media now. What do you think?
I think the campaign from the conservative perspective was fascinating. As Kate rightly says, I mean, her leader delivered a very successful result by most measures. But in the end, that referendum in the writing of Carleton was clearly a referendum on Pierre Paliyev. There's no other way to read that result.
The rifts that were exposed over the course of the campaign were quite astounding to see Conservatives fighting out in the open. That's not something that I have witnessed in a very long time, not since the merger, not since the creation of the new party. So that obviously needs to be taken very seriously. It felt like Premier Ford couldn't find a microphone fast enough the morning after to discuss the results. The same with Premier Tim Houston.
Their family is clearly not all aligned at the moment, and that is going to be an ongoing challenge that they need to repair. That may mean playing nicer, absolutely. Absolutely. It means they should be in reaching out mode. And there's not a second to waste, frankly. Hearing a liberal talk about the other parties divide is kind of an interesting twist to politics these days. I think the other thing on the conservatives is I think they need to be aware of.
how much that coalition isn't really necessarily a coalition. One of the things that happened to us, and we'll get to us shortly, but is yes, a whole bunch of our folks felt like Mark Carney was the answer to the Donald Trump question, and so voted that way. But also in other places, for example, in southwestern Ontario,
We know that there are new Democrat voters in the blue collar workers who couldn't stomach the idea of a liberal winning and so went to the conservatives because they thought that's how they could best beat the liberal. So anyway, I think this dynamic is going to be interesting. I think the result. that we saw earlier this week came directly from the ballot question being about Donald Trump and not necessarily kind of a domestic question, which.
means the next couple of years are going to be interesting and the next election could be too. OK, that that analysis is interesting. Trump versus domestic. But Kate wants to weigh in on the state of her party. And I have just questions on the family feud. Yeah, I think Jason Kenney said it really well on election night. This is a largely personal spat. that exists between about half a dozen people. I think it would be not correct to say that this extends to the movement.
Even to the staff working for the respective premiers and the party brass, if you will, the people knocking doors, I have never observed that. I've been involved with the federal and the provincial conservatives for two decades. This is a personal spat. It needs to get resolved. What happened during the campaign was not acceptable. This is not a major rift. It's getting a lot of attention because of course it is.
Well, the people are very high profile. It may only be half a dozen, but they're very high profile. Indeed. But all the more reason for those people to come together, have an adult conversation, and figure out how we're going to stop doing harm to one another. Okay, let's call a spade a spade.
Pierre Polyau's campaign manager, Jenny Byrne, was publicly criticized by two premiers. Most campaigns, people couldn't even tell you who the campaign manager is if you're not in the war room. Is Jenny Byrne's job on the line? Jenny Byrne is prolific. In conservative politics, maybe in Canadian politics, there's people that like her, there's people that don't like her. I think that she accomplished a lot.
in this campaign. Part of the reason the campaign, from my perspective, was as disciplined as it was and staying on that message track. was the result of her leadership on the campaign. And I don't think that that can be discounted. And I don't think that ruffling feathers with premiers or other politicians would be a good rationale to lose your position. I think this is a decision that needs to be taken by caucus and the leader, ultimately.
But again, when I look at the campaign result, I do see a lot of success. including a lot of hard work that happened on the ground. And that is what what Miss Byrne is known to do very well. I want to very quickly ask Marcy and George what the significance is of Pierre Polyev being out.
of the House of Commons? What does it mean for politics in Canada? Yes, there will be a by-election. It's a very conservative riding. He's likely to be back in, but there's a period of time where he won't be. Marcy? It seems to me that the most effective communicator for the Conservative Party is on ice. It is impossible to prosecute the agenda of the government from outside of the Commons.
Mr. Carney recognized that he needed the mandate of a seat in the commons in order to govern. I think that holds for both sides. Both leaders of the main parties should be sitting in the heart of our democracy. It is suboptimal at best for him to be out of the commons. It is not insurmountable. As you say, we now know that a by-election will be called. I thought it was refreshing and important for the prime minister to acknowledge that no games.
would be played, that the by-election will be called at the earliest opportunity. There are some actual administrative hang-ups that mean he will not be in the House in the next week. I think it's fair to estimate that it would not likely be before the fall that we see him in place. Should he be successful in the by-election? But I would say this only in...
It's really important to recall that even in a quote-unquote safe riding, that by-elections do not always hold to the trends of general elections. And so while it may seem a foregone conclusion for Mr. Poliev, I would imagine the other parties...
can and will contest that very rigidly when the by-lection is called. It is rural Alberta, and I believe Damien Couric had something like 70% of the vote last time. Absolutely. Best case scenario for a seat, but there is no safe seat in politics. No Toronto St. Paul's.
Well, I predicted that we'd have party status and that Pierre Paulier would win his seat. So I'm not going to get involved in the prediction game because clearly... No one holds you accountable. It's okay. Kate and I were at a reception one day where I bet the entire room a beer each that I... Oh, you did?
that we get party status. So I'm going to hide from bars around Ottawa for the next little while. Small room, big room. Well, it was medium size. Anyway, I think the significance, I think it's always important, but I don't think it's as important as it should be, frankly. I think...
that increasingly over the last number of years, I mean, even in like the decade and a half that I've been involved, the House of Commons has become less and less important. It used to be the case that question period.
would drive the media and drive the news of the day. I think it hardly ever does that anymore. I think the clips are nice. And I think it's, especially for the prime minister, it was important for Mark Carney to have pictures of him in the house. And that's why I think he really needed it. But I think that, you know, those clips exist of Pierre Polyev.
And I think that he's going to come out and do scrums whenever he wants to and still be able to lead the party. I don't actually think it'll affect the Conservatives that much. He will be subject to libel laws outside of the House of Commons.
Well, to a certain extent he always has been. I hear you, and he'll have to be careful, but I think he'll be out there. Okay, I want to talk about the future of the NDP. You were talking earlier about sort of Trump versus domestic issues as the party moves forward. Does it have to decide between wooing urban progressives and winning over workers?
Well, I think that that's a fair question. And I think to a large extent, I mean, the results in the last election changed us a little bit. But to the large extent, we were the only party left that really straddled both those things. I mean, the liberals became a largely...
And the conservatives were largely rural. So you tried to straddle both, but it did not. Sure. But I think that's part of part of who we are. I mean, I think and so I think that can't be lost. But I think that also some of this gets overplayed. I think that it's also like the rural communities. have a lot of the same concerns. And we just need to be careful not to alienate folks when we get into different discussions. I think the cost of living matters to everybody. And I think that...
on Tuesday morning after the election results that people woke up and they still couldn't afford groceries. People woke up and they still had rent they couldn't afford. They still couldn't buy their houses. I mean, those problems still exist. And I would argue that no matter how good a job Mark Hardy does, they're still going to exist in two or three years when we have another election.
I think that we just need to be clearer, I think, about those issues. And I also do think that when we choose the next leader, we need to be working to make sure that folks... And there'll be a challenge. Remember that we are a party that actually can win across the country. Quickly, we're government in British Columbia, official opposition in Alberta and Saskatchewan, government in Manitoba, official opposition in Ontario and Nova Scotia.
I mean, there still is a strong base from which we can build, and we just need to focus on that. George is right. The NDP are not dead. This idea that we're moving to a two-party system, I do not think is a valid one. The NDP has been here before. Catherine, you asked the question, do they need to choose between workers and urban downtowners? I think the question is, do they want to be...
the social conscience of Parliament? Or do they actually want to win? Do they actually want to govern? Because that's, in my opinion, where their leadership race needs to focus. Are we going to have somebody that is the moral compass of Parliament and the progressive left? Or do we want to win elections?
I think that's the bigger question that the NDP needs to think about. And I think that is part of a debate that we've always had within our party. And I think that some people look at the NDP as the movement. And I think that's a mistake. I think we are the electoral wing of the progressive movement in this country. And we just need to make sure that that becomes more clear and that we are doing what we can to win seats because otherwise you don't win.
Okay, I want to move on to the Liberals. I know you were left out of that, Marcy, but it's the Liberals' turn here. A lot of talk about Mark Carney trying to... sort of govern for all Canadians, which is a phrase we hear. A lot of thought it was interesting on Friday to hear him talking about safety as a priority, which didn't seem to be language I heard during the campaign. But concretely, for people who are listening right now who think, OK, Mark Carney is going to try to govern for these.
two big tranches of the country that voted very differently. What is one thing he can and should do to actually make that happen? What does that look like? On election night, Mr. Carney set out two pillars that would be the North Stars of his time as prime minister. He said he would govern with humility and with ambition.
And I actually think that that threads the needle pretty accurately for where most Canadians are right now. They are not looking for gamesmanship. They are looking for someone to take the helm of leadership very seriously. to take that serious tone and nature down on his first trip to Washington next week, to be able to speak with one voice on behalf of the federal government and the Federation.
That is what Canadians are looking for. We can articulate or I could list certain policy sets that I think matter a lot. But for right now, I would say that overarching frame of being an adult in charge, recognizing the needs and wants of all Canadians. largely hinge on right now the threat that is being presented by the United States to our economic security, individual and collective.
is exactly what Canadians of all stripes want to see, whether or not they voted for Mr. Carney. He was elected to negotiate with Donald Trump. That's the job that he's been given. So in that vein, the last question I want to ask you all is if you were giving the prime minister a piece of advice about this first meeting, and we saw with Vladimir Zelensky how poorly these meetings can go. what is one piece of advice you would give him? George, I'll start with you.
Oh, sure. Start with me. I think that the problem is a lot of it's just show. So I think the silly things, like he has to be ready and prepared for the handshake. And then I think he has to not be distracted by other folks on the other couches. And I think that he needs to be firm. I think that even if the meeting goes poorly, but he comes out being strong and firm on the side of Canadians and protecting Canadian jobs and keeping things more affordable in Canada, I think.
that even if that one comes out poorly and Donald Trump is mad, I think that'll do well for him here in Canada. There's no indication that this meeting should go poorly, right? During the campaign when the president and Prime Minister Carney spoke, things were amicable. After the election, things seem very amicable. Trump calling Carney a very friendly guy or very friendly gentleman. So I don't think there's any expectation that this should go badly.
I think it is the constituencies to manage back in Canada that are more challenging and particularly around energy resources. So the two pieces to me. What are we doing around resources and getting things moving? And what are we doing about Arctic sovereignty? I think that those are the two pieces to watch for in the readout next week and the two pieces that I think are of mutual interest to both countries.
Interesting. Arcee? I agree with that in sum. Do not take the bait. Be prepared for the... unthinkable to happen. Anything could happen in that space, so you must remain calm, as Mr. Carney seems to have that affect to begin with. I think that's going to be helpful. I agree with Kate's list. I would add to that that he is going to also have to be able, coming out of the meeting, to say he defended critical sectors in Canada, including those most important to the province of Quebec and Ontario.
Okay. Listen, it has been wonderful to talk to the three of you throughout this campaign. Thank you so much for your time. And I hope you all can get a bit of rest. Maybe we'll do it again soon. Very soon. I need a nap first. Yeah, fair enough. That's Marcy Sirk. Kate Harrison and George Soule. And by the way, I did say there that Damian Kirk got 70% of the vote in his writing. We double-checked. It's actually 82%.
Lots more coming up on the House podcast. We've got three MPs on how they're preparing for this new parliament. On an evening in early December 2018, the young CEO of a cryptocurrency exchange reportedly dies while on his honeymoon in India. This death is not announced to customers for another month. and when they're told Gerald Cotton is the only person to hold the passwords to their fund.
Conspiracy theories grow, leaving some to wonder, could Gerald Cotton still be alive? Honeymoon, moving the body, all the missing money. It was like, but what happened? A Death in Cryptoland. Available now on CBC Listen and everywhere you get your podcasts. I'm Catherine Cullen. You're listening to The House, making politics make sense. Make sure to give us a follow so you never miss an episode. And tell us what you think of the show. You can email us at thehouseatcbc.ca.
Now, let's hear from the people who will be making up this new parliament. The NDP is in a tough spot coming out of this election. The party lost 17 seats and suffered a near-total blowout in its stronghold of Vancouver Island. Leader Jagmeet Singh says he'll step down from his post once the party picks an interim leader. So for the party of now, seven MPs, what's next? NDP MP Gord Johns won his BC riding of Courtney Alberni for a fourth straight term.
Gord, welcome back to the house. Oh, thanks for having me on, Catherine. How you doing? I'm tired, but I'm energized at the same time. You know, it's always incredible when you come out of a campaign, especially in a rural riding. You've talked to people in 34 communities. about what's important to them. And at the same time, I'm just so deeply humbled when people put their trust in you to be their messenger in Ottawa and be their voice.
So extremely energized, at the same time, exhausted. You are the only NDP MP left standing on Vancouver Island, a place that your party dominated in the previous election. Why do you think you were the one who kept your seat? Well, I think, first of all, I mean, it wasn't the result that we fought for, and it sure doesn't define the future of the NDP on Vancouver Island. And we know a lot of New Democrats.
loaned their votes to the Liberals. They were trying to protect their country the best they knew how. But what happened north of the Malahad, for example, is that progressive voters split the vote. And a lot of New Democrats loaned their votes to the Liberals, for example, in an elected Conservative. So it wasn't Conservatives defeating New Democrats. It was progressive voters. scared with the threat of Donald Trump to our country.
scared of you know conservative uh representation and it actually ended up electing conservatives so the so-called strategic voting based on national, even regional polls, it didn't work. In many cases, over a dozen seats for New Democrats went to Conservatives.
When you talk about Trump, though, are you suggesting this is kind of a fluke for the NDP or is this a new reality that the party needs to figure out? Oh, absolutely. Like, I mean, I heard even myself on the doorstep, hundreds of people telling me that.
They would tell me that I've been the best MP they've ever had, that I've worked so hard for them, that they're so grateful for my service, but they had to vote Liberal to stop the Conservatives. And I'm like, that's not the case in our riding, and it'll never be the case. Liberals haven't won my riding since. 1972, I believe. So, I mean, the reality is that people were scared, and they didn't know what to do. And it created chaos, and it elected conservatives in over a dozen NDP rioters.
instead of what those voters wanted was to elect a progressive voice. So your former colleague, Charlie Angus, who didn't run, as you know, in this election, has a different assessment of what happened. He's put up a post in which he says that... The party lost touch with its base, with its grassroots, and that is part of the devastating result. What do you make of that assessment?
Well, I would say this, that certainly our messaging needs to improve. I mean, we're fighting the slogans of the conservatives that weren't backed up by any evidence-based policy. that I didn't have any substance to it, but it was resonating. And we didn't counter that message clearly enough to resonate with many voters. And that's something for sure I'll acknowledge.
But at the same time, there was a lot of progressives trying to do the right thing, scared. And, you know, over 75% of our voters. voted liberal for example because they were afraid of what the trump chaos could bring but not because they rejected our ideas or our party they were trying to do the best they could now what's next for us our fight continues we've got hard work ahead of us you know, to defend public health care, it's going to be New Democrats doing that.
for affordable housing, for good jobs, and for making the ultra-rich finally pay their share. And that's only New Democrats that are calling out the excessive corporate greed. the excessive profits that were seen in big oil, big banks, big grocery, the big telecommunication companies. You'll never hear conservatives talk about those issues.
And those are the issues that are impacting people today. Gordon, I'm just trying to understand, are you saying if Donald Trump goes away, the NDP's problems go away here? No, I think we have some rebuilding and some work to do. I'm not going to deny that. And that's something that we're set out to do right now. Like our caucus met yesterday. We're starting to work on a path forward in the House of Commons already.
In the coming days, our federal council and our party executive will be meeting. And so there's a lot of work in front of us, and I'm not denying that. But at the same time, it was a difficult election. We lost... who fought with courage and principle and heart under his leadership, millions of Canadians as of yesterday, or May 1st.
they're now eligible for dental care. And millions more will get birth control and diabetes medicine. So life has been made a little bit more affordable. We've got a stronger health care system as a result. And he was the champion for working people. And in many turbulent times that he was...
Well, he was our leader. But we have a lot of work in renewal, absolutely moving forward. I want to zero in on pharmacare, dental care that you just talked about. The NDP argued during this election campaign that it got more results in the last parliament than ever before because of those programs.
yet the party had its worst result ever. What is the lesson there? Again, this wasn't a normal election, and so it's really hard for me to kind of, you know, to analyze that. But I can tell you that as New Democrats... and getting help to people is at the center of everything we do. We see the Conservatives and the Liberals constantly always looking at who's going to be in charge of the executive. We saw Conservatives basically acting like they were measuring dust for their cabinet posts.
before the election. We're not doing that. We're putting people at the center of everything we do, no matter what. And it's too bad that everybody's focused on re-election, focused on control over the executive, instead of putting people at the center of everything they do. And that's what we're going to do. We're not going to change that, no matter what.
And that leads to an interesting question about how this parliament is going to function. Mark Carney said on Friday he doesn't want a deal with the NDP in order to govern. But I wonder... Whether the seven of you have any other choice right now with no leader other than to support the liberals while you try to figure things out. I mean, you can't manage another election anytime soon.
Well, if they want our votes, they're going to need to make sure that people are at the center of everything they do, because that is obviously a condition for us to be supporting them in any way, shape, or form. So, I mean, their alternative is obviously to go work with the block. Anyone approaching you about trying to get you to cross the floor, join the Liberals? It's not an option. We're not interested. I can tell you right now, for me anyways, it's...
I'm a New Democrat. I'm a proud New Democrat. It's something I wouldn't even consider, no matter what the situation. scenario is. Other end of the spectrum, would you run for leadership? No, I'm on Vancouver Island. I'm realistic about how challenging it is to be an MP from Vancouver Island.
That is just something that it's a huge barrier being that far west. And I'm really proud of doing the work I do in my constituency, my riding, but being the only progressive voice on Vancouver Island, I've got a huge responsibility now. and a lot to carry on my shoulders from Vancouver Islanders. It's always new Democrats that are protecting our coast. And so that's a role that I'll be playing, certainly when it comes to returning to Ottawa.
Gord Johns, I appreciate you taking the time and congratulations on your re-election. Oh, thanks, Catherine. It's, again, very, very humbling. Hope you get some rest. I hope so, too. And EBMB, Gord John. Conservatives may have complicated feelings about the results this week. They're back in opposition, their leader without a seat in the House, but some significant breakthroughs in Ontario and popular support is up.
How's the caucus feeling? Gerard Dertel is the Conservative MP-elect for Louis Célérat-Aquille-Enrac in Quebec. He's been an MP since 2015. Gerard Dertel, welcome back to the House. Well, thank you so much. For months, your party was poised to form government, it seemed. It looked like a majority for quite a while. How does that colour how you feel about the results?
Well, obviously, we are running to win and we lost. We have to recognize it. Even if we grew up a lot, we have to recognize that the people, the will of the people is different. You know, I'm a democratic guy. I do respect the will of the people. And we have to deal with that. We also have to think that in the last six months, many things have changed. First of all, the prime minister resigned and the liberal had a brand new leader and the tariff and the Trump administration.
was something brand new in the last six months. So we have to deal with that. I think we may determine this job, but obviously not enough to win. Let's talk about what worked and what didn't. Two new members in Quebec. Your party also saw significant success in Ontario, more than the polls anticipated right before Election Day. What do you attribute that to? What do you think worked? Because I think that we focus most of our campaign focus on the domestic issues.
And in that field, we won all the time. Just to give you the example, you know, we were so efficient as an official opposition to the government in the House of Commons. We were so efficient that we convinced a lot of Canadians and among them the Liberal Party. We decided to put aside Mr. Trudeau. We decided to put aside their legacy after 10 years. And they pick up a lot of our propositions. So we did a good job on domestic issues. And I think that people recognize it.
In English, the expression is victim of your own success. Well, I would not say that we're talking about victims of our own success because, you know, we won some battle and obviously some people prefer some other option on other issues. When we talk about the tariff, I think we were on the right path. We had great proposition. I think the best proposition that we made on this field was the fact that, yes, we have to address directly Mr. Trump.
But when we talk about the auto sector, it imposed 25% tariff on that. Our answer was to cancel the GST. to invite people to buy a Canadian car. which was, you know, a goodwill because more people, more money in the pocket of the people and helping the industry buy the Canadian by themselves. So that was a very pragmatic and conservative way to address the threat of the... of Mr. Trump on the auto industry.
It is such an interesting campaign because I think it sort of depends on your vantage point, how you view the outcome. And so I want to ask you, I said we talked about. I want to talk about what didn't. Doug Ford's campaign manager described it as campaign malpractice to blow a lead of more than 20 points. What do you say to that? Well, I will not obviously answer directly the question raised by this gentleman that, by the way, I've never met. I don't think I've met him.
And especially that kind of comment during campaign, it's anything but very useful to help the family members of our great tent as a conservative. On the other hand, I think we have to recognize that... around 45% of the support in Ontario. There is a lot of new members from Ontario as there is a lot of new members from coast to coast. We're talking about 25 new members. So yes, obviously we would prefer to have one.
But on the other hand, we have to recognize that we grew up. We grew up in the poll. We grew up with the result, almost 42%. We have to get back to the Mulroney's year, 1988. to reach out this number. We have 25 new members. We consolidate a lot what we have in Quebec and we grow up two new members with us, 24%, the best corps since the Mulroney years.
And also in Ontario, we grew up too. So I think that we did what we had to do. Obviously, we would have preferred to win, but we also have to recognize that we grew up. You talked about family members, the Conservative Party as family members in a great big tent. You had two premiers directly call out the campaign manager. You had Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston say the Conservative Party of Canada needs to do some soul searching.
Need some family therapy? Do you have a problem? Well, looking on that, you know, first of all, about Mr. Houston, you know, I watched his video and I was very impressed by that. First of all, I'm a big fan of, my name is Joe and I am Canadian. I love this ad. With my spouse, we have a lot of fun. trying to repeat word by word what this guy is saying. I am Canadian. I am proud of that. I love it. So I love this. I love this video.
But I think that, you know, this is the kind of discussion that we should have at the right time, at the right place, in the right forum too. So we will have a caucus next week, and with all my respect that I have to you, I will speak on that at the caucus. But the question of mending fences, sir, I think is beyond a caucus discussion. Canadians want to know what the Conservative Party stands for. Do you think there are fences that need to be mended with parts of this?
country, conservatives in parts of this country right now? Well, obviously, some issues have been raised and some issues have been asked to be addressed. But look at the result. We grew up. That's the end of the day. But also at the end of the day, we lost. You know, and I'm not that kind of guy, you know, talking about the moral victories and the losers, stuff like that. No, we lost and we grew up. You gain C.
Yes, yes. And it is quite impressive, you know. So because this election was very special, very, very special. So it was a brand new game since January when the prime minister decided to resign. And then because he was kicked out by his own caucus member, because we convinced them that Justin Trudeau was no more good for his country. even if they support him just at the last drop, to say the least. Okay, we only have a moment left, and I do want to ask you about...
The House working better because when Parliament adjourned, legislation could not get passed. You just had an election. Do you expect that the Conservative Party and the Liberals will find a way to get along better? Well, I think that Mr. Poilier made a tremendous speech at the night of the election, you know, talking about we have to recognize that we fail and we have to recognize and to identify what went wrong and what went well.
to be sure that the next time we will grow up and we will form a majority government. And also, Mr. Poilier said that he wants to work with the Prime Minister and the other parties to address the... Trump's threat and tariff. So this is what we are looking for a new parliament.
We always keep in mind also that the last government, the last parliament was a minority government for three and a half years. Traditionally, after one year and a half or two years, we have an election in a minority government after three and a half years. It was about time to call the election.
M. Deltel, on vous remercie tellement pour votre temps. Thank you so much for your time today. Appreciate speaking to you. A real pleasure. And merci beaucoup for my a little bit rusty English. No, c'était excellent. Merci beaucoup. Bonne journée. Thank you, sir. Bye. Bye-bye. Gerard Deltel is a Conservative MP from Quebec. Rebecca Alte is the outgoing mayor of Yellowknife. She rose to national attention in 2023 when her community grappled with mass evacuations in the face of wildfire.
This week, she was elected the new Liberal MP for the riding of Northwest Territories. Rebecca Alte, welcome back to the House. Thanks for having me. Your party obviously won the election, but you didn't pull off the majority that some were anticipating. How do you feel about the result? Well, I'm happy to have been elected for the Northwest Territories, honoured to be representing the people when I go to Ottawa.
And happy that the Liberal government is making government again. Of course, you know, would have loved the majority, but happy that we're still in government. A lot more people voted Conservative than many of the polls had anticipated. In terms of how the Liberals actually run the country, what signal do you take from there being so much support for the Conservative Party?
Yeah, and I think Mr. Carney was just speaking to that, really working with all parties and working with all residents across. NGOs, business sectors. So I do think it's the important time, the national unity, and to really take... My experience with the municipal government into the House, you know, the way that we work collaboratively across
We don't have parties at the municipal level, but we do know that we don't all vote the same. But you work with your colleagues for the best interest of all residents. I do hope to bring that, and Mr. Carney is already signaling that's how we're proceeding. Do you think the Liberals owe this government to the collapse of the NDP vote? I think that Mr. Carney's leadership is the one thing that I heard on the trail, that folks were interested in his economic experience, his finance experience.
mature, the mature adult in the room. So that was what I was hearing. A lot of support for the Liberal Party was Mr. Carney's leadership in these difficult times. So that's what I think helped us. But I mean, is that fundamentally, though, about Trump and people moving away from the NDP in the face of Trump? I think regardless of that, that it is about the states and the challenges that we're going to face in that regard, but that folks did feel that Mr. Carney was the best one to lead.
You know, people did have many options here in the Northwest Territories and they wanted to put their vote behind Mr. Carney. When it comes to how this House of Commons works, are you personally open to the idea that MPs from other parties could cross the floor to bolster the liberal numbers? Whether that happens or that we're able to work together to vote. to support bills moving forward.
I think either way works, so it would be up to the other party members to decide whether they want to come join the Liberals and the values and the propositions that we have. But either way, I think, you know, there is that opportunity to work together, whether it's legislation by legislation or if they do feel that they want to join the Liberal Party.
And I do want to talk about leadership and the signal that the prime minister will be sending as he forms his team. I wonder if you think there needs to be a northern voice in cabinet because perhaps right now that's likely to be you. Yeah, there are a number of Northern Liberals. There's myself, there's the MP of the Yukon. So those are the territories Liberals. But we also have some strong candidates and strong Liberals in...
northern Saskatchewan, northern Manitoba and Nunavik. So, yeah, I do think there's a lot of us from the north with some good experience. And so, you know, if... tapped on the shoulder happy to serve but I do think that there's we've got some good strong northern voices that will be you know whether it's on cabinet or in caucus being able to champion our causes
The fact that the prime minister was born in the Northwest Territories, do you expect a little bit more attention to northern issues? I mean, I know when we've talked about it over the years on the House, it's a struggle, right, to get the north into the national conversation.
Yeah, I think he is well aware of the Northwest Territories, clearly, but also the potential and the untapped opportunities up here. So I do think with him as the leader, we'll be able to, and not only... for him, but we're seeing across the country the look to the north, the Arctic security, critical minerals. So there is more attention. So taking that silver lining in these challenging times of getting those investments up in the north will be something I'll be working on.
But yeah, it was also something I heard on the campaign trail. You know, the fact that the prime minister was born in the Northwest Territory, spent time here and continued to come back. You know, most recently, he was one of the keynote speakers. When the Northern Indigenous leaders held an investment conference last April, he was one of the keynotes. So he's continued to keep current with the Northwest Territory. So I think that'll be valuable.
The prime minister didn't have a minister responsible for women and gender equity in his last government. Does having a minister in charge of that file matter? Yes. And so continuing the programs, I think, is also key. And so the short cabinet period was kind of the keep the lights on. And so the signals have been that.
still looking to grow the number of cabinet seats versus the keep the lights on. So look forward to seeing all the different portfolios when they become available. Would you argue that that one should be a priority? That one should, but it's also, I think, important that it's not in a silo doing all the work. I think it's important that, you know, when the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, that that's a key priority for them too. So I do always worry when it's...
oh, there's that minister over there, they're the one responsible, versus every minister should be keeping that lens. Same with climate change, it shouldn't be all on the minister of environment. It should also be the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities.
And culture. So making sure that we're not creating those silos, that it is these key issues are being looked at in all policies and programs. Finally, Mark Carney's visit with Donald Trump is on Tuesday. He joked there'll be no white smoke after just one meeting. How quickly, though, do you think Canadians should expect this trade war can be set? It could be challenging. I think the president does have...
his own agenda. So I think it will be a difficult time to navigate, even if it looks like we're in the clear for another month. We never know what will come. So yeah, I think it will be something that we'll continue to face throughout our term. Okay. Well, listen, thank you for taking the time for this conversation, and congratulations on your win. Thank you very much. That was Rebecca Alte, the incoming Liberal MP for the Northwest Territories.
Okay, that's it for us this week. Our crew on the house is Kristen Everson, Emma Godmere, Benjamin Lopez-Steven, and our senior producer is Jennifer Chevalier. Thanks also to Caitlin Crocker. I'm Catherine Cullen. Thank you so much for listening. For more CBC Podcasts, go to cbc.ca.