LILLEY: Carney out of touch, detached from everyday reality

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Mark Carney keeps showing Canadians that he is detached from everyday life in Canada.

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His bizarre remarks about fruit Thursday night followed by his comments about CBC show Carney lives in a different reality – and sometimes the past.

On Thursday, Carney appeared on a show produced by Radio Canada, CBC’s French division, called Five Leaders, one election. Every major party leader made an appearance to discuss the serious issues of the day, including how Canada is reacting to the American tariff situation.

“Do you still buy any American products? Do you buy strawberries from the United States?” one of the journalists on the panel asked Carney.

“I have to give you a strange answer, because as Prime Minister, I no longer buy strawberries and all that. Someone does it for me,” Carney said.

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That’s a tone-deaf answer if ever there was one.

The question was clearly about whether you are switching your purchasing habits. Carney’s awkward nature in non-scripted moments combined with his poor ability in French resulted in that cringeworthy answer.

Also, he was PM for nine days before he called the election, it’s not like he really knows how things work. Let me explain this part to him, the chef at the official residence will buy groceries based on instructions from the PM or his family based on their likes or dislikes.

If he doesn’t want American produce in the fridge, it won’t show up.

On Friday morning in Montreal, Carney was then announcing a big funding boost for CBC, his favourite media outlet. Liberals love to give more money to CBC, and CBC loves to give Liberals favourable coverage in their news – it’s a mutually beneficial relationship.

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As Carney was explaining why CBC is so important and why it deserves more money, he used out-of-date examples, perhaps driven by the fact he’s lived close to half his life outside of the country.

“Across the country, Canadians rely on CBC, Radio Canada, from Schitt’s Creek to Hockey Night in Canada and Mike Myers,” Carney said.

Well, Schitt’s Creek hasn’t been on the air for five years. Hockey Night in Canada has been produced by Rogers, which owns the main NHL broadcast rights, since 2014. And Mike Myers has lived in the United States since 1989 and he isn’t on or been part of CBC in decades.

It’s a bit like the video that Carney did with Myers, all the references to Mr. Dressup, Howie Meeker and Bud the Spud. While endearing, they are also decades old and from a Canada that no longer exists.

It’s what you get from two rich guys, each with three passports who have lived outside of the county much of their lives trying to show they are everyday Canadians.

It rings hollow, it’s fake, like Carney’s answer on buying strawberries.

blilley@postmedia.com

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