Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, left, speaks with Prime Minister Mark Carney before Question Period in Ottawa on Monday.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Like boxers tapping gloves before a fight, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre shared a few quiet words and a laugh in the aisle of the House of Commons just moments before they were to spar for the first time.
And for a time Monday, Question Period was a friendly match between the Liberal government and a Conservative bench reinvigorated by Mr. Poilievre’s return to Parliament after a by-election win this summer.
Though Parliament sat briefly after the spring election, Mr. Poilievre had lost his seat and thus the role of Opposition Leader was handled by Andrew Scheer. Then, Damien Kurek, who had just been re-elected as Conservative MP for the Alberta riding of Battle River-Crowfoot, stepped down, and Mr. Carney swiftly called a by-election to give his rival a chance for a spot back in the Commons.
On Monday, Mr. Poilievre thanked the Prime Minister for that decision, though quipped it may be one that he comes to regret.
The Conservative Leader’s first question – posed once in English, then again in French – appeared to be offered in the sprit of collaboration, asking Mr. Carney whether his government shared the Conservatives’ goal of a prosperous Canada.
“I agree entirely with the sentiment,” Mr. Carney replied, speaking in French.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre faced off in question period.
The Canadian Press
It wasn’t the only collegial moment. Conservative MP Luc Berthold rose ahead of Question Period and delivered an emotional statement about his son’s death by suicide. His seatmates wrapped him in a hug as MPs from all parties rose for a standing ovation.
Another round of collective applause followed Conservative MP Rachael Thomas’s pre-Question Period statement on the death of U.S. right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, calling for civility.
“As we grapple with our personal response to this, may we be honorable in our actions,” she said.
“May we fiercely defend the rights of our opponents to speak freely.”
But after the first round of back-and-forth between Mr. Poilievre and Mr. Carney, the rhetorical gloves were dropped, and the Conservatives began to pick apart the Carney government’s actions on the cost of living, crime, housing and immigration – often accusing the Prime Minister of being “just another Liberal.”
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It was an echo of a previous slogan used by the Conservatives for Mr. Carney, referring to him as “just like Justin” in the early days of his leadership, a reference to his predecessor Justin Trudeau.
When the topic turned to immigration, brief confusion on the Liberal benches as to who should answer a question prompted a sharp heckle from the Conservatives: “Wake up, Lena,” a reference to Immigration Minister Lena Diab.
That MPs were rusty at the cut-and-thrust of Question Period showed elsewhere. Some – including Mr. Carney – struggled to keep their answers to time. But others, clearly old hands at the daily accountability exercise, used Question Period as they always have – to catch up on correspondence, review the news or send texts.
Mr. Carney, with a stack of small desk notepads in front of him, jotted down the odd note, and when not taking questions, often had Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne chatting into his ear.
The makeup of Parliament is such that the majority of time in Question Period is now allotted to the Conservatives with 144 seats to the Liberals’ 169. The Bloc Québécois have 22 seats, the NDP 7 and the Greens 1.
When it was Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet’s turn for questions, he pressed Mr. Carney on his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump and the state of trade talks.
Speaking in French, Mr. Carney called Mr. Trump a modern man, noting he has a cellphone and the pair exchange text messages. The Prime Minister also said they spoke recently.
Mr. Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, had a practice of taking all questions from opposition parties on Wednesdays.
During the spring session of Parliament, Mr. Carney broke from that practice, though he remained in the chamber for all of Monday’s Question Period.
NDP MP Gord Johns told reporters after that what he saw on display Monday was business as usual.
“What’s consistent is no answers in Question Period.”