Opposition MPs are calling for a federal lobbying investigation into Prime Minister Mark Carney’s connections with developers who could benefit from a proposed $1.45 billion bailout of distressed condos in Metro Vancouver.Conservative MP Aaron Gunn and Bloc Québécois MP Luc Thériault submitted a joint petition asking the Commissioner of Lobbying to examine how the federal Partnership on Condo Conversion program was developed and whether lobbying rules were followed.“Who petitioned the government for it?” asked Gunn, the MP for North Island-Powell River, B.C. “Who stands to benefit? And did unregistered and potentially illegal lobbying for this bailout occur?”The petition, co-signed by Thériault, the MP for Montcalm, Que., asks the commissioner to determine whether Carney’s dealings with developers complied with the Lobbying Act.“Canadians deserve transparency about how this decision was made,” the petition said.Blacklock's Reporter said Carney announced the Partnership on Condo Conversion program June 18. The proposal would see the federal government buy about half of the distressed condo units on the Metro Vancouver market and resell them as affordable housing.“We would be buying distressed condos,” Carney told reporters June 25.Asked by a reporter whether anyone had requested the program, Carney said developers had not approached him personally.“No developer asked for this from me directly,” he said. “So, that’s a simple answer.”Gunn and Thériault argued the government could instead have allowed market forces to push down the prices of unsold condos.Cabinet “could have simply allowed the price of these unsold units to fall, making them more affordable for British Columbians trying to enter the housing market,” the MPs wrote.“Instead the Liberals decided to use taxpayer dollars to bail out certain developers, shielding investors from the consequences of their own decisions,” the petition said.“This plan raises serious questions about how this policy emerged and who may have lobbied for it.”The MPs also pointed to Carney’s political fundraising activities in Vancouver.“For example, the announcement followed two fundraisers in Vancouver with Bob Rennie, a major condo marketer commonly known as the ‘Condo King,’ with tickets for ‘an evening with Mark Carney’ costing as much as $1,750,” they wrote..The petition also raised questions about Duncan Wlodarczak, chief of staff at the Onni Group of Companies and British Columbia chair of the Liberal Party of Canada.Wlodarczak previously served as an adviser to Housing Minister Gregor Robertson.“Both the Prime Minister and Minister of Housing have indicated they were not lobbied ‘directly’ for this program,” the MPs wrote.“But that itself raises further questions about the motivations behind the decision, and the conversations that may have led to its development.”The Commissioner of Lobbying did not comment on the request.Questions have also been raised about Carney’s personal investments and whether his holdings could benefit from the proposed program.Carney’s 2025 filings with the Ethics Commissioner disclosed stock holdings in Brookfield Asset Management, which owns high-rise residential buildings in Toronto and Metro Vancouver.The prime minister has not indicated whether his personal stock portfolio would benefit from the proposed condo bailout.
