Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry Conservative MP Eric Duncan recently shared his thoughts on key political developments, including the Canada First rally, Mark Carney’s leadership of the Liberal Party, and the federal government’s response to U.S. tariffs.
As he gears up for the upcoming federal election Duncan has already secured 1,500 sign-ups for campaign signs.
Duncan attended the Canada First rally in Ottawa, where Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre addressed the crowd following U.S. President Donald Trump’s initial imposition of 25% tariffs on Canadian goods. “I thought it was great — he really gave a lot of details of how we would fight back against Trump’s unjustified tariffs and his desire for Canada to become the 51st state. It’s a ridiculous idea, but this is a huge wake-up call for Canada to get our own financial matters in order so we can both fight back and also be less reliant on the U.S. economy and their unpredictable and erratic decisions.”
He dismissed the notion that Carney’s leadership would bring meaningful change, arguing that the party remains fundamentally the same. “My view is that this changes nothing — it is the same group of Liberals that got us into the mess over the last nine years. Mark Carney was an economic advisor to Trudeau, and remember, he was slated to become the Finance Minister under Trudeau only back in December.” He went on to criticize the Liberals for their sudden policy reversals, saying, “The Liberals will ask Canadians for a fourth term in office — that’s like hiring the arsonists to become firefighters. They are pretending to flip-flop on all their major decisions — the carbon tax, job-killing capital gains hikes, and now they pretend to support developing energy projects in Canada. It’s just a sneaky attempt to trick Canadians into believing they are different, but they are not.” Carney worked closely with the Harper government during the 2008 financial crisis to help stabilize Canada’s economy.
“Conservatives are the ones that came up with these ideas to get our country back on track and to become a much stronger and independent economy. We’ve been talking about these ideas for years, not just in recent days like the Liberals, who are pretending to be a completely different party. No one should believe it.”
The Justin Trudeau Liberal government has implemented policies to support economic recovery and independence, including the Strategic Innovation Fund, Canada Infrastructure Bank, and trade diversification efforts like the CPTPP. Additionally, the government introduced COVID-19 economic relief measures and a C$6.5 billion aid package to help businesses counter U.S. tariffs and expand into new markets.
Duncan said, “We need to make ourselves more independent and less reliant on the United States, and this lines up nicely with what Conservatives have been saying for years.” He underscored the importance of tax cuts, resource development, and the removal of interprovincial trade barriers to strengthen Canada’s economy. “We need to cut taxes — like getting rid of the carbon tax entirely — and become more competitive. We need to develop our natural resources and get them approved to create Canadian pay cheques and tax revenues that will support our economy. We need to develop an east-west energy corridor and remove interprovincial trade barriers so we do more business amongst ourselves and with other countries around the world.”
Duncan highlighted Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) as a missed economic opportunity, blaming Liberal policies for hindering its development. “There are so many countries around that have repeatedly asked Canada to export LNG — countries like Germany, Japan, Greece, South Korea, and others. The Liberals said no for nine years and literally said there is no business case for it. Now, we are behind the 8-ball and under Liberal red tape, it would take decades to get approved and built.”
He concluded by stressing the need for a more assertive economic strategy. “We need to approve projects quickly, cut red tape, and this is a major way to allow Canada to stand more independent from the U.S. and not rely on them as much economically, considering how unpredictable they now are as a neighbour and trading partner.”
