Carney will ‘absolutely not’ prorogue Parliament if he wins majority government in April

Prime Minister Mark Carney says there is “no chance” he will prorogue Parliament next month, even if he wins a majority government following three byelections set for mid-April.

“Absolutely not,” Carney told reporters following an announcement in Wakefield, Que., on Tuesday.

“It has never even entered my thinking, the possibility of that” he added.

“So, I couldn’t have been more surprised to see suggestion that that was under consideration.” The Liberals have hovered around the 172-seat threshold for a majority government since last April’s general election. Despite some former Trudeau-era cabinet ministers picking up diplomat posts and resigning their seats, the Liberals made up the difference with four floor crossers in as many months, putting them at 170 seats.

Three byelections are set for April 13: two Toronto-area ridings that are considered Liberal strongholds, and one in Terrebonne, Que., where the Supreme Court overturned the results after the Liberal candidate won by a single vote, but it later came to light that a mail-in ballot for the Bloc Quebecois had not been counted. Carney’s comments after the Globe and Mail reported late Monday, citing sources, that the federal government was considering prorogation if the Liberals were to win the three upcoming byelections. Prorogation requires permission from the Governor General, and means putting an end to the parliamentary session, including all parliamentary business, so any bills that have not received royal assent would die on the order paper, committee work would go unfinished, and MPs would no longer sit in the House of Commons.

Former prime minister Justin Trudeau prorogued Parliament for more than two months last winter after he announced he would step down, giving the party time to replace him.

In French, Carney said there is “no chance” he’ll prorogue Parliament if he gets a majority, pointing to House Leader Steven MacKinnon — who also attended Tuesday’s announcement — and saying the latter “wouldn’t be happy with (him).”

“We are absolutely focused on working with Parliament, getting legislation through Parliament, adjusting legislation where it needs to be, where it’s better informed by the discussions in Parliament,” Carney also said, adding the government is making “real progress” on “a range of bills.” Still no answer on gas tax relief Carney was also asked Tuesday whether the federal government is considering cutting the gas tax to give Canadians some relief at the pump, as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to drive an increase in prices. Several other countries have either reduced or cut their gas tax entirely amid the surge in prices, including Australia, Italy, Spain, Ireland and Portugal.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, meanwhile, has been asked about the issue several times in the last week, but has stayed noncommittal on a potential gas tax cut.

“We’re following it closely,” Carney said.

“And in the context of fiscal realities, other measures we’ve taken to improve affordability, the persistence of the potential oil price, we have to take all of that into account.” The prime minister said his government’s upcoming spring fiscal update would be “the right time to fully answer that question.” A date for the spring economic update has not yet been set.