Mark Carney has now been prime minister for three months. He has one more month — to the day — before the House of Commons returns and the business of governing gets properly under way. That is, when the opposition can ask questions and the media, scenting the prospect of conflict, will finally take a keener interest in what’s going on.In other words, as many a politician before him has found, the time of his premature aging is about to begin.Not that I am particularly sympathetic, although perhaps I — all of us, really — should be more understanding. Think about it. Moving into the Prime Minister's Office in April must have been like a parent coming home after a teenage party had got out of hand. Politically speaking, his feckless predecessor had left the place in a state, the furniture askew, the carpet stained ... and the chap next door wanting to walk in and take over ....Indeed, the Government of Canada had been effectively non-functional since the fall Green Slush Fund scandal, when the Liberal government refused to provide answers to questions raised by the Speaker, and House business ground to a procedural halt..Federal ‘green slush fund’ collapse reveals $150 million mismanagement scandal.Then came prorogation and government itself stalled. A new leader-less civil service soon became sluggish and transactional, limited as it was to performing the minimum, while files piled up..Whatever else we may observe, Carney came to office with a truckload of difficulties.To be as fair as possible to the man, some of his initial moves generated favourable headlines. There were unproductive but seemingly cordial trade talks with US President Donald Trump, hefty and long overdue defence spending pledges that generated positive headlines, and promises of fiscal transparency. His government passed tax cuts, provided GST relief for first-time homebuyers, scrapped the consumer carbon tax, and struck a Canada–EU defence pact.Relations with the provinces were friendlier than under Mr. Trudeau, superficially at least. (Although in Alberta, Premier Danielle Smith gave Mr. Carney six months to deal with Alberta's reasonable demands. That clock is ticking.).But although he has been busy, one has to ask: what's the worth of what he's done?Take Bill C-5, the legislation to fast-track major projects and dismantle interprovincial trade barriers. On paper, it’s a potential economic breakthrough. In reality, its impact is conditional on indigenous approval and a thumbs up from Quebec. Those familiar with how often such approvals are forthcoming will know not to hold their breath.Similarly, no reasonable person expected him to win a tariff war with Donald Trump. But Mr. Carney's game plan, such as it was, relied upon provincial cooperation, which is shaky at best, and on Alberta’s oil and gas industry, which his climate prejudices make him reluctant to embrace. Realpolitik, we thought, would force his hand to the benefit of the country. Apparently not yet.The same applies to defence. Announcing billions for new equipment is easy. However, this country doesn't know how to buy arms. The promised hardware will likely arrive long after Mr. Carney has left politics — if ever.Meanwhile, he is borrowing and spending with Liberal passion, with deficits projected at $60–$70 billion this year. And another old Liberal passion — the one for control — is creeping back: the now-defunct Online Harms Act may be gone, but warrantless information seizure is back in Bill C-2.His pivot towards Europe raises its own questions. Will he suddenly find a business case for exporting Canadian gas to Germany? One wonders. And one also wonders whether the Europeans will even still be interested.Meanwhile Mr. Carney's recognition of Palestinian statehood — like Bill C-5 — is sufficiently conditional that it will be meaningless in practice. Those of us who deplore the murderous tactics of Hamas may take some consolation from that. But what then was the point of alienating Israel and the United States for nothing? To secure Melanie Jolie's majority? Has it come to that in Canada? Apparently so..Three months in, the PMO furniture is straighter, and the carpets are cleaner. But whether the house is liveable, or just superficially tidied, will become clear when the Commons returns and the tidy-up is tested against the hard questions of governance.And no test will be greater than the presentation of a budget, now promised for fall. Mr. Carney has already promised during the election campaign to borrow a quarter of a trillion dollars over four years. Now, the congenital Liberal preference for borrowing and spending can operate under a cloak of nation building.We have seen what a prime minister can do, who brags that fiscal policy is unworthy of his attention. Now Canadians will see whether things are any better with a prime minister whose calling card is that as a banker, he at least understands money.Why does it make me feel older than I am, just to think about it?
