Carney Touts Legislation His Government Will Table as ‘Most Consequential’ in Decades

Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government will be tabling what he described as some of the “most consequential” legislation in decades when Parliament reconvenes next week.

Carney addressed his Liberal caucus at a retreat in Ottawa Friday, following a week marked by the inaugural Canada Investment Summit he hosted in Toronto and his address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, both of which he touted as successes.

The retreat comes just before the fall sitting of the House of Commons gets underway at the beginning of next week.

Among the Liberals’ first bills of the sitting will be legislation to enact the fuel excise tax extension that Carney announced on Sept. 2. The prime minister said he also plans to introduce the Build Canada Strong Act and to move forward with the Safe Social Media Act, which was tabled in the House of Commons in June.

The Build Canada Strong Act is a legislative package that will mandate a strict one-year time limit to either approve or reject major domestic infrastructure and national interest projects.

Carney said a slightly adjusted legislation will be presented in the House of Commons this fall after a summer of consultation with stakeholders.

“Canada will always be a country of high standards, but high standards do not mean decisions have to be slow,” Carney told his caucus. “If we’re going to say no, say no quickly. If we’re going to say yes, say yes on time.”

He also promised to push the social media safety legislation that will prevent children 15 and younger from having accounts on social media services and will crack down on cyberbullying and online exploitation.

“We are safeguarding the digital world so our young people can be free and safe when they’re navigating it,” he said, adding that he also wants to see Canada lead the world in digital safeguards, including on artificial intelligence.

While there is broad cross-party consensus that children need better protection from online harms, opposition parties have voiced concern about how previous iterations of online harms legislation would impact free speech and privacy.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said he and his party would withhold formal judgment until they have had an opportunity to fully review the legislative text, which was presented just before Parliament’s summer recess.

Poilievre has also called on Carney to recall Parliament in the aftermath of the collapse of U.S.–Canada trade talks, with the Conservatives faulting the prime minister for speaking at the European Parliament before the Canadian Parliament.

Carney attended the opening of the European Union parliament this week in Strasbourg, France, where European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addressed him directly during her Sept. 16 speech, announcing she wants Canada to become the first “associate member” of the bloc.

Carney addressed parliament the following day, saying he welcomed von der Leyen’s ambition to establish Canada as the first associate member of the EU. He has also billed his push for stronger European ties as part of a broader effort to decrease Canada’s dependence on the United States.

Poilievre has also urged the government to publish the text of the rejected U.S. trade agreement so MPs and the public can evaluate what was negotiated and why it failed. The government has not yet done so.

Poilievre, who held his own caucus retreat this week, has expressed concern about the potential associate membership, saying while Conservatives support having more trade and cooperation through alliances such as the NATO, they won’t support any arrangement that could force Canada to cede control over domestic laws, immigration levels, and national borders.

Poilievre told reporters last week that more must be done now to save Canadians money at a time when the costs for food, gas, and housing are on the rise in the face of American tariffs.

“It’s great to have summits and speeches and travelling around the world, but what about right here at home in people’s real lives?” Poilievre said. “Where are the results that they can enjoy? That is what is missing right now.”

During his talk on Sept. 18, Carney also talked about global trade, particularly with Europe.

“We launched the process for a new alliance with the European Union, an alliance for the future, and it’s an alliance that’s rooted in common values,” he told his caucus. “It’s one that’s dedicated to strengthening our sovereignty, so our citizens can flourish as free people on free ground.”