Today matters more than most Canadians realize. A federal budget will be tabled today. Not voted on, just tabled. But that act alone carries the weight of what kind of country we want to be. I don’t care which party you usually support, which province you live in, or which language you speak, because none of that matters if we fracture now.
We went through an election six months ago. The last thing Canada needs, on every measurable level, is another one. And yet, I can feel the opportunism creeping in. The political gamesmanship of Pierre Poilievre circling like a shark who smells distraction. But here’s the truth: he has never once offered a real alternative plan. He is all toxin and timing, poisoning every conversation without a single antidote to offer.
If he were in office today, facing the chaos south of the border, he’d dropped the oars in the water just when we are nearing the shore. His entire worldview depends on rage, not reason, on looking clever in the moment rather than leading through a storm.
Because make no mistake: this is a storm. Globally, economically and politically. And yes, this budget will hurt. It will not be what we want to see. It won’t make everyone happy. But it must spend, to protect Canadian workers, industries, and sovereignty. We cannot “balance” our way through instability any more than we can calm a tempest by pretending it isn’t happening. Sometimes the only choice is to hold steady, face into the wind, and keep rowing toward the far shore.
For those who keep trying to paint Mark Carney as “radical left,” please stop rewriting history. His politics, thoughtful, measured, pragmatic are where most Canadians have always lived: that red Tory, blue Conservative, centrist ground where the country was built. The ideological edges are loud, but the majority of Canadians still believe in balance, competence, and decency.
That’s Carney. That’s the middle ground we stand on.
I grew up in that middle ground, in New Brunswick, in a household where people voted for the person, not the party. My parents believed in integrity, in character, and in service to community. Some years they voted Liberal, some years Progressive Conservative. They never confused loyalty to Canada with loyalty to a party banner. I was raised to believe that good governance means getting your hands dirty solving problems, not shouting about them from a podium.
That’s the spirit I see in this government’s work today, even when it’s hard, even when it’s unpopular.
Because real Canadians, and I mean those working, parenting, caring, and surviving aren’t asking for ideology. They’re asking for stability. They want their electricity and utility bills to stop climbing. They want to be able to afford their rent or mortgage. They want to see their kids get the health care they need, when they need it. They want to put groceries on the table without having to choose between milk and medicine.
That’s what today’s budget will speak to. And that’s why we need to let it stand.
We are not in a normal time. Every global market is shaking. Our closest trading partner is led by a man whose moods can tank industries. The instability in the Americas is not something we can “spin” our way through. It demands strategy, calm, and endurance. And that’s what we have in Carney: not perfection, but purpose. Not flash, but focus.
To anyone thinking another election would “fix” this, please, step back. What it would actually do is rip this country open again. The cost of campaigning might seem political, but the cost of instability is deeply personal. It hits every paycheque, every investment, every piece of infrastructure we can’t finish because we’re stuck in campaign mode instead of governing.
And while the political right might relish the drama of it, the adrenaline of “winning,” Canada itself would lose months, maybe years, of progress.
So yes, today is political. But it is also profoundly patriotic. And to everyone reading this: your voice still matters. Write your MP. Call their office. Tell them that no matter which party they belong to, they have a responsibility to hold this government up, not tear it down. The NDP and Green votes will matter. The Bloc’s choice will matter. And every Canadian watching from home will matter, too, because this moment defines whether we can still govern ourselves like adults in a storming world.
Mark Carney will not emerge from this unscathed. No one could. He must be exhausted, fighting daily battles for a country that too often forgets to thank its leaders until they’re gone. But what strikes me most is that he’s doing it without spewing hate, without dividing, without turning neighbour against neighbour. He understands that when you lead a nation, you represent everyone, not just those who voted for you. So when that budget is tabled today, it will not be a partisan document. It will be a Canadian one. And that, more than anything, is why I’ll stand firmly behind it, bruises, doubts, and all.
Because the only way through this storm is together, gripping the same oars, rowing toward a common shore, no matter how high the waves get.
Nancy's Notes 