Prime Minister Mark Carney survived his first test in Parliament — barely. His inaugural federal budget passed 170 to 168 on Monday night, saved only by a last‑minute alliance with Green Party co‑leader Elizabeth May and a handful of abstentions from MPs unwilling to face the voters.That razor‑thin margin isn’t a sign of strength. It’s a warning flare. .BERNARDO: Carney cooking NATO’s books with a fantasy army of paper-pushers.When a government’s survival depends on MPs staying seated and one Green Party vote, it’s no longer governing. It’s clinging to power.May’s price for keeping Carney in office was Ottawa’s renewed “commitment” to meeting Canada’s Paris Agreement targets — a promise so detached from reality it borders on satire. Canada has missed every major emissions goal it’s ever set. .Environment and Climate Change Canada quietly reported last year that national greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 were still 8.4% above 1990 levels — the year those Paris targets trace back to. The Liberals now claim they’ll cut emissions 40% to 45% below 2005 levels by 2030. But with five years left, that’s like trimming half a tree with a butter knife.Even Ottawa’s own projections don’t support May’s dream. .NORRIS: Alberta’s recall circus — How losers are hijacking democracy.The 2023 Emissions Reduction Plan shows a gap of nearly 54 million tonnes between current policy and Paris compliance. The only way to bridge it would be massive energy shutdowns or industrial collapse — not exactly a foundation for “economic resilience.”Yet despite those facts, May crowed that Carney’s pledge was “historic.” What’s historic is the federal debt, which the budget itself says will hit $1.35 trillion by year’s end. .Carney’s plan piles on another $78.3 billion deficit for 2025–26, supposedly in the name of growth. Finance Minister François‑Philippe Champagne insisted the spending spree was “transformational,” fuelled by “investment in innovation and defence.” But that word “investment” has become Ottawa code for borrowing against the future while calling it “progress.”The government’s own numbers tell the real story. .QUESNEL: Workers' party or working government? NDP at a crossroads.Debt‑servicing costs will hit $55.6 billion this year — more than federal health transfers to every hospital and clinic in the country. When politicians spend more paying yesterday’s bills than on today’s patients, that’s not policy. It’s negligence.Carney’s team claims the budget includes $51 billion in cuts and savings from “public service restructuring.” .Carney is trimming a few desks while hiring consultants by the truckload. Even with the projected reduction of 40,000 federal jobs by 2029, Ottawa will still spend $581 billion this year — the most in Canadian history.The Liberals are also cutting environmental programs, including the much‑touted 2 Billion Trees initiative, which has produced more press releases than seedlings. That’s an irony lost on the Green Party, which somehow decided cancelling tree planting is a price worth paying for another grand speech about emissions targets Canada can’t meet..MUSHET: McGowan's attempt to take over .The lone bright spot is Ottawa’s pledge to reduce temporary resident admissions. Many Canadians struggling with rent and hospital wait times understand the need to ease pressure on housing and services. But this government undercuts even that by refusing to curb spending or reform carbon pricing that’s making life less affordable. The public is being squeezed from every direction — high taxes, higher costs, and a government convinced that promises are policy..The four abstentions that saved Carney’s job expose the deeper rot in Parliament. Two New Democrats couldn’t bring themselves to vote for a budget they claim to oppose, and two Conservatives stayed out of the chamber altogether. Their absence did more for the Liberal government than any backroom deal in Ottawa..OLDCORN: Alberta’s classrooms are becoming English language camps.Carney will now send the budget to the Senate, where few expect resistance. But the political damage is done. This was supposed to be the prime minister’s defining moment — a chance to prove himself more than a banker in a suit. .Instead, he presided over a near‑defeat saved by a Green leader’s fantasy and MPs who refused to take a stand.Elizabeth May got her climate promise. Mark Carney kept his job. Canadians got a $1.35 trillion tab with another round of slogans about “meeting our Paris targets.”That’s not leadership. That’s delusion with a seat count.
