Former prime minister Harper accuses Carney of overblowing role during financial crisis
Liberal leadership hopeful led Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013
Former prime minister Stephen Harper is accusing Liberal leadership hopeful Mark Carney of taking too much credit for helping guide Canada's response to the 2008 global financial crisis, an assertion the former central banker's campaign says shows the Conservatives are worried about the upcoming election.
Carney's history leading the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013, before moving on to the Bank of England, has been the backbone of his bid to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as he pitches himself as someone who would bring a steady hand to the economy.
With less than a week before Liberals choose their next leader, Harper — the Conservative prime minister at the time of the global crisis — is taking shots at Carney's economic expertise.
In a fundraising letter, Harper wrote that Carney — widely seen as the front-runner in the race — was not involved in the "day-to-day management" of Canada's economy during the global recession and is undermining former finance minister Jim Flaherty's legacy. Flaherty died in 2014.
"I have listened, with increasing disbelief, to Mark Carney's attempts to take credit for things he had little or nothing to do with back then," Harper said.
The letter does not cite any specific "attempts to take credit" by Carney. His Liberal leadership campaign website states that during the 2008 financial crisis, the former central banker "guided Canada through one of the most turbulent economic periods in modern history, protecting jobs and helping ensure that Canada came out stronger."
"He has been doing this at the expense of the late Jim Flaherty, among the greatest finance ministers in Canada's history, who sadly is not here to defend his record," Harper wrote.
"But let me be very clear: the hard calls during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis were made by Jim."
Harper goes on to attack Carney, the man Flaherty approved to run Canada's central bank, for being "wrong on all the big issues" like carbon pricing and immigration and while praising Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre for "being right on those same things."
Carney's campaign says he has a proven track record that Poilievre is "afraid to run against" in the next federal election, which could quickly follow the Liberal leadership campaign.
For more than a year, Poilievre's Conservatives had been enjoying around a 20-point polling lead, but recent surveys suggest that gap is closing.
"Canadians can believe 2012's Stephen Harper, who publicly praised Mr. Carney and worked to recruit him as finance minister, or 2025's Stephen Harper, who reversed himself after recently watching his party's historic drop in support," said the Carney campaign in a statement.
Harper previously praised Carney
The 22nd prime minister's letter comes weeks after Carney revealed Harper asked him to join his cabinet as finance minister in 2012.
In a February interview on CBC's Rosemary Barton Live, Carney was asked why he was entering the political fray now, after his name has been tossed around in Liberal circles for years.
"I have been offered positions in the past," Carney told Barton. "For example, prime minister Harper asked me if I would be his finance minister in 2012."
At the time of the interview, Harper's former director of communications Dimitri Soudas said, "Carney is not telling the whole story, and prime minister Harper certainly does not support Mr. Carney in any way."
Harper's letter, shared with media Monday, does not deny he offered him the position.
The tone of Harper's letter is starkly different from some of his previous public comments about Carney.
When Carney left to lead the Bank of England, Harper congratulated him for being a "valued partner as the government has worked to steer Canada away from the worst impacts of the global economic recession."
The former prime minister's comments are just the latest round of back and forth over how much credit Carney should get for steering Canada's response to the 2008 global financial crisis.
Last month, Poilievre's wife, Anaida, criticized Carney on social media and claimed the former central banker was "claiming the legacy of a man who has since passed."
"What's happening right now is not just misleading — it's appalling," she wrote.
Chisholm Pothier, who worked for years as a senior official with Flaherty's team, came to Carney's defence in his own post on social media.
"Oh please. I was there and Carney played a big role," Pothier said. "Flaherty and Harper provided the political leadership that was key, but Carney was on deck with insight and smart monetary policy."
Carney has publicly praised Flaherty, calling him a "mentor" and a "lovely human being."
"I respected him enormously," said Carney in an interview after Flaherty's death. "I'm very grateful for everything he did for me, and I owe him a great debt."
The Liberal Party meets in Ottawa Sunday to choose its new leader. Carney's rivals for the top job include former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, former government House leader Karina Gould and ex-Liberal MP and Quebec businessman Frank Baylis.
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