What happens when you’re a “special advisor”?

February 2025. During his campaign to win the leadership of the Liberal party and distance himself from Trudeau’s record, Carney claimed that he’s not an insider. But just four months prior, last September, Carney became special adviser and chair of the Liberal party task force on economic growth. Did his “special advice” pay off and improve our economy? Anyone who shops for groceries can tell you the answer to that. So can the one in four families who now need the Food Bank in order to survive.

What actually did pay off are the perks of being a “special adviser”. Shortly after getting that position, it was revealed that Brookfield Asset Management, which Carney heads, solicited and received from the government $10 billion.

Apparently, Carney didn’t have to follow standard ethical disclosures mandatory for prime ministerial advisors because he was employed by the Liberal Party rather than the Prime Minister’s Office. Got to love that Ottawa swamp.

And what happened to the $10 billion of taxpayers’ money? Well, it disappeared. In December 2024 Carney advised shareholders in Brookfield to approve moving the company’s headquarters to New York, which they did. He’s certainly a very special “special advisor”.

Sources for reading and research:

Fool Me Once: The Cost of Carney–Trudeau Tax Games by investigative reporter extraordinaire, Sam Cooper.