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OTTAWA — After a worldwide mission to secure new trade deals and foreign investment, Prime Minister Mark Carney was back in Ottawa when parliament reconvened on Monday — but not for too long.
Before leaving town to meet with Ontario Premier Doug Ford in Toronto, Carney visited an Ottawa grocery store on Monday morning, where he announced a 25 per cent increase in the GST credit to help low-income consumers cope with the high cost of groceries.
Their meeting follows Carney’s visit to China earlier this month, where the prime minister announced the federal government will allow some Chinese-made electric vehicles to enter the Canadian market after a nearly two-year trade dispute.
Ford, whose province has been hit hard by US tariffs on autos from the United States, reacted angrily to the deal, saying Carney never told him it was coming.
Speaking at the Pizza Nova restaurant in Etobicoke, Ford was asked if there had been a reconciliation between him and the Prime Minister.
“We’ve never had any problems,” Ford said with a big smile.
“Listen guys, we’re one big family. And sometimes brothers and sisters may disagree, but at the end of the day, make no mistake about it, we are one country. We are Team Canada, both of us.”
Carney has been touring the world and country in an effort to strengthen Canada’s economy in the face of United States tariffs on key Canadian sectors.
He was present in the House of Commons for 24 days from May to December last year – just three days less than the number of days spent in the Commons by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the same period in 2024.
However, Trudeau answered significantly more questions from opposition members than Carney – largely due to Trudeau’s policy of being the sole government voice in question period on Wednesdays.
When Carney became prime minister last year, he did not adopt that policy.
“It surprises me that the Prime Minister doesn’t necessarily think a lot of the work gets done in the House – at least it doesn’t involve him directly,” said Lori Turnbull, a political science professor at Dalhousie University.
“How many times during question period does taking questions actually create real accountability?”
Carney’s travel schedule has been targeted by the Conservatives, who have accused the prime minister of spending more time traveling abroad than addressing the affordability crisis at home.
Carney has spent time in China, Qatar, France and Switzerland since the beginning of the year.
He is expected to visit India, Brazil, France, Türkiye, the US and Antigua and Barbuda by the end of the year.
During question period on Monday, the Conservatives asked the Liberals how they want to make “life more affordable” for Canadians.
Question Time, which typically lasts about an hour, allows opposition parties to hold the federal government accountable each day during the sitting of the House of Commons. Parties attempt to push their agenda through Question Time, and clips of testy exchanges are commonly used on social media and for party fundraising purposes.
Turnbull said Question Time acts as a “democratic check and balance” on the government – and if prime ministers get into the habit of avoiding it, it undermines public trust.
But staying out of Question Hour could be a political strategy in itself, he said – especially as opposition parties often struggle to attract attention when the House is not sitting.
“Parliament has a way of equalizing power between the government and the opposition, especially when it’s a minority (government),” Turnbull said.
“If (Conservative leader Pierre) Poilievre is talking to himself, not as many people are going to watch Question Time.”
Poilievre is set to face Conservative Party members this week in a vote on whether he can remain as party leader – a vote he is expected to survive.
Turnbull said Poilievre could refer to Carney when he is not appearing on Question Time or when he is out of the country.
“But part of (his message) that’s going to resonate with voters — if it does happen — will be, ‘Carney’s agenda is not helping me,’ as opposed to ‘Carney didn’t exist again on Tuesday.'”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2026.