The rise of Mark Carney to the prime ministership of Canada has done nothing to assuage the long-held conviction within the Canadian conservative community that the mainstream press favours those on the left. Not that Carney shows any great devotion to leftist ideology or policies. He simply represents the face of the largest contingent of progressives under one banner and has proven more than capable of attaining and sustaining high office. Carney’s administration reveals three things that Canadians, and specifically conservative Canadians, must contend with. First, regardless of how many times our vaunted journalist class claims objectivity in covering our political leaders, they betray it daily. Secondly, Carney possesses enough personal credibility that the national press operates from the perspective of debtors to their emancipator. Finally, like a trip to the casino, you may win some bets or overcome stiff odds to capture a treasure, but in the end, the house always comes out on top.
JOURNALISTIC OBJECTIVITY
Proving journalistic objectivity resembles a fool’s errand. Newspapers once were organs of political parties, used for communicating policy, ideology, or opposition. George Brown, founder of what we know today as the Globe and Mail, began his operation as a political tool of the Reform Party. This organization developed into the Liberal Party of Canada. Brown, along with Sir John A. Macdonald, helped negotiate Confederation after decades of rivalry bordering on personal hatred. Not to be outdone, the Toronto Empire existed to allow the conservative prime minister, Macdonald, to deliver news through his perspective. The Empire lasted for a few decades and upheld Tory programs like the National Policy (a central economic and political strategy of the Conservative Party under Sir John A. Macdonald. From 1878 until the Second World War, Canada levied high tariffs on imported goods to shield Canadian manufacturers from American competition). Obviously, these papers exhibited a political preference and left little doubt for the readers. By the 1930s, many newspaper owners realized that appealing to only one party cut their potential income in half. A new term arose called “professional objectivity,” meaning that advertising-based revenue required an “objectivity” standard to keep advertisers happy and readers maximized. Many small-town newspapers and media chains have been associated with conservative ownership. Urban newspapers with large circulations and corporate media giants veered left. The national broadcaster, CBC, which receives billions of dollars in taxpayer funds, has been accused of a left-wing bias for decades. No written policy exists to prove the bias, but on-air content speaks for itself. As far back as 2002, Dr. Conrad Winn of Carleton University was writing about CBC’s bias (CBC News has a bias problem). This forum does not allow space for a complete discussion of the topic, but most conservatives find alternative sources for their news for a reason. Although David Cochrane and Rosemary Barton possess considerable talent as television presenters, their interviews and panel sessions often reveal an underlying partiality for progressive figures and their agendas. Question Period on CTV regularly welcomes American guests to comment on the Trump administration’s policies. As a regular viewer during the Trump era, this author cannot remember QP interviewing a current member of the Trump team. They will occasionally find a “Never Trumper” Republican or a former administration official with an axe to grind. Often, however, they get a Democratic official to come on as some sort of honest broker who will provide a balanced assessment of a given policy. These networks try the same trick in Canada, often loading up a panel with people who have a grievance with the present Conservative Party leadership or represent a more moderate wing of the party. This practice gives the Liberal Party a leg up on the competition and does not serve democracy well. Carney is the latest benefactor. What is the extent of Canadians’ knowledge and familiarity concerning Carney? Do they know basic facts about his American business dealings? Due to the Canadian media’s deep entanglement with the Liberal Party’s electoral victories, the press has effectively protected Carney from the sort of criticism that would typically befall a Conservative leader.
CARNEY AS EMANCIPATOR
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s threats to reduce the CBC’s budget and rein in media subsidies, cut taxes, and downsize government sound dystopian to most mainstream media members. Carney would never suggest this out loud or criticize the national network, but his brand of politics does not come naturally to his media allies. Most of them are far more comfortable with a big-government idealist who panders to the long-held practice of funding established programs, dreaming up new ones, and redistributing as much income as possible. Carney recognizes the need to increase productivity, develop resources, and reward entrepreneurial risk. This conservative-leaning approach, borne out of desperation, brought great relief to our ink-stained media friends. They knew Carney would lead a government and a cabinet still filled with left-of-centre politicians who would understand the drill. A Conservative government could threaten their status and positions. Upon hearing that the Trudeau era was drawing to a close and that Carney was interested in the succession, the media outlets could hardly contain their excitement over such fortunate circumstances. Carney’s ascent represented a reprieve for the press. Downplaying his American interests, avoiding the reality of his Trump-like executive life, the media shone a light on his intellect, cool demeanour, and overwhelming success as a banking guru in Canada and Great Britain. Who better to overcome the Poilievre advantage in the polls and then face down the dreaded Donald? Once Carney announced his intentions, the media climbed aboard faster than ants into a picnic basket. They viewed Carney as their emancipator. He would free them from the threat of a Conservative government that might demand financial accountability, fund alternative media, or provide access for voices beyond the approved Laurentian media chorus. Carney, an American business tycoon, became Canada’s saviour.
THE HOUSE ALWAYS COVERS
Looking at the present era with a cynical lens, the core reality we face is the press’s significant influence over voters, or at the very least, its capacity to manufacture a particular narrative. If U.S. President Donald Trump poses a threat to democracy, our way of life, and freedom as we know it, then how can we be sure Carney is the answer?
Carney’s American associations are lengthy. Carney spent 13 years working for Goldman Sachs (a leading American multinational investment bank and financial services firm) in New York and Boston, rising to Managing Director. He was a member of the board of directors at Stripe, a major FinTech company based in San Francisco. He oversaw Brookfield Asset Management’s move from Toronto to New York in 2025 and holds investments in numerous American companies. Carney graduated from Harvard in 1988 and served on the Board of Overseers from 2021 to 2025. He has close ties to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his predecessor, Janet Yellen. His wife holds a degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and two of his daughters attended Harvard and Yale, respectively. If ever an American creature strode across the stage of Canadian politics, Carney fits the bill. Packaged as the chosen one, prepared for this moment, able to fend off the Trump menace, the Liberal machinery anointed him, the adoring press embraced him, and the Canadian public invested their hopes in him. Strange how a man of business, overseeing corporations, personal holdings in the millions (if not billions), tied to international finance, and with a foreign education checks the box as Canada’s champion. Many have written about his global experience and leadership. Recently feted at Davos for delivering a stinging speech about the old world order being “ruptured,” the media now aim to make him a superstar on the world stage. Anything they can do to make him indispensable suffices.
Occasionally, Canadians overrule the press and become so weary of Liberal governments that a competent and cerebral Conservative leader (Diefenbaker, Mulroney, Harper) can circumvent the “House” rules and form a government. When the chips are down, however, and the fear prodigious, Canadians can rest assured the self-appointed protectors of Canada’s virtue, the fourth estate, will work hard to get their man (or woman one day) elected. With Carney, they have what they wanted, but is he who they think he is? And more importantly, has the press told Canadians the truth about the political knight in shining armour they have created?
Dave Redekop is a retired elementary resource teacher who worked part-time at the St. Catharines Courthouse as a Registrar until being appointed Executive Director at Redeemer Bible Church in October 2023. He has worked on political campaigns since high school and attended university in South Carolina for five years, earning a Master’s in American History with a specialization in Civil Rights. Dave loves reading biographies.
