Is Mark Carney set to shutter Parliament after a series of by-elections in April? Is he dodging tough questions and accountability for a lackluster record "building Canada" and getting tariff peace with President Trump?

The Globe and Mail reports that the government is considering proroguing Parliament if the Liberals sweep all three by-elections on April 13th. Those ridings — University-Rosedale and Scarborough Southwest in Ontario, and Terrebonne in Quebec — would push the Liberals to 173 seats. A bare majority. Deputy Chief of Staff Braeden Caley says there are "no plans" to prorogue. Don't believe it.

Carney is trying to establish a majority in Parliament through the backdoor without asking Canadians to render a judgment on his record in a general election. Prorogation would reset under that new framing and his government would not face confidence votes for what could be years. There is little indication of plans for an imminent general election once the majority is secure and the by-elections are behind him.

The Temporary Foreign Worker Prime Minister

Carney has been the international photo-op Prime Minister, recognizing the value of appearing to make progress abroad while being ambivalent to the situation at home. He's already being criticized as Canada's "Temporary Foreign Worker" Prime Minister — he should visit us more often.

The numbers back it up. Global News reports that Carney has attended just 28 of 96 Question Period sessions since the 2025 election — a 29% attendance rate. Stephen Harper managed 64% in his first year. Even Justin Trudeau showed up for 46%. Carney also broke with Trudeau's tradition of answering questions from all MPs, restricting himself to the leaders' round. Prorogation would remove the accountability mechanism entirely. Is that the point?

Killing his own agenda

Prorogation means all legislation before Parliament dies on the order paper. That includes Carney's own signature priorities:

• C-19: Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit
• C-20: Build Canada Homes

The man who promised to "build" is killing the bills that were supposed to deliver on that promise.

Also dying would be contentious legislation that highlight the failures of the last decade of Liberal rule:

• C-9: The Combatting Hate Act, a lightning rod on free speech grounds, which had already passed third reading in the House
• C-14: Bail and Sentencing Reform, touching the crime and public safety debate Canadians are having

Then there are the bills introduced on March 26th — days before a potential prorogation — that must have been introduced for optics rather than passage:

• C-25: The Strong and Free Elections Act
• C-26: Housing supply funding, tied to recent Ontario housing announcements

Dozens of private members' bills would die too, covering everything from criminal justice reform to basic income to Indigenous self-government agreements. The Senate legislative calendar gets wiped clean as well — bills on the Indian Act, energy efficiency, and health data interoperability all go with it.

The economy, stupid

Carney was elected with the backdrop of economic hardship for Canadians, but the brief distraction of Trump carried the day for the former Governor of the Bank of England. That hardship has not gone away.

On April 1st, the industrial carbon price rises from $95 to $110 per tonne — more than double what it was when the Ukraine war began. The consumer carbon tax may be gone, but the Parliamentary Budget Officer has identified a hidden carbon cost embedded in fuel regulations that adds about seven cents per litre of gasoline. There are tens of millions in added food transportation costs. Energy represents a significant portion of food prices, and those input costs get passed along. Groceries keep getting more expensive and the government's own grocery benefit bill is about to die on the order paper.

The economy kills every government that doesn't handle it properly. Prorogation would be Carney kicking this can down the road.

Same Liberals, new wrapper

The same Globe and Mail article reports that senior Liberals are discussing making Tom Pitfield — Carney's principal secretary — a Senator, potentially as government leader in the Senate with a cabinet seat. Pitfield's wife, Anna Gainey, a former Liberal Party president, is already serving as Secretary of State for Children and Youth.

Pitfield has been an operator in Liberal circles through the entire Trudeau era. His appointment would lend credence to the accusation that the Carney government is just a thin wrapper around the Trudeau years. The face at the top changed. Not much else has.

I have some personal experience with Pitfield's operation. In 2021, the Globe and Mail's Steven Chase reported that the Liberal Research Bureau paid Pitfield's company Data Sciences over $75,000, with Liberal MPs claiming an additional $30,000 or more in expenses to the same firm. Data Sciences ran the Liberal Party's digital campaign infrastructure — Pitfield was a childhood friend of Trudeau. When the story broke, the PMO's defence was to point at the Conservatives and name me. I had been paid $15,000 by the Opposition Leader's Office for digital consulting. That was their counter-example. Pitfield's company was pulling at least six figures through parliamentary channels to run the governing party's digital machine, and the best the Liberals could do was point to a meager consulting fee on the opposition side. Nice try guys. But hey, maybe I'll use this as an example to bolster my own eligibilty for the Chamber of Sober Second Thought when the time comes!

Will Carney prorogue?

Carney is facing mounting questions about what he's actually accomplished. Big promises to build during the last election. Big promises to get a deal with Trump. Meanwhile costs keep going up and the economy isn't getting better. Given enough time, Carney's job will live and die by the economy.

He will likely prorogue. A majority secured through by-elections, a Parliament shuttered before it can ask uncomfortable questions, and the same Liberal insiders rewarded with Senate seats. Canadians didn't vote for this. They deserve a general election.