Senate appointment shows Carney’s knack for strategy

Mark Carney may still be relatively new to elected politics, but he’s proving to be a remarkably quick study in the art of political chess.

His decision to appoint Conservative MP Richard Martel to the Senate last week wasn’t just about filling a vacancy. It was a calculated move that accomplished several political objectives at once while leaving Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre with virtually no way to respond.

That’s what good political strategy looks like.

On the surface, appointing a sitting Conservative MP to the Senate appears generous, even bipartisan. It allows Carney to portray himself as someone willing to look beyond party labels in selecting qualified people for public service.

It reinforces the image he has carefully cultivated since becoming prime minister: pragmatic, reasonable and less partisan than many of his predecessors.

But beneath that veneer lies some impressive political strategy.

By moving Martel to the Senate (one of four appointments to the upper chamber last week), Carney immediately reduced the Conservative caucus in the House of Commons by one seat. Even with a majority government (albeit a slim one), every opposition vote matters in committee work, question period and the daily optics of Parliament.

More importantly, Martel’s departure triggers a byelection in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, a riding the Conservatives won by about one-third of the vote. The Liberals finished only a few percentage points behind, while the Bloc Québécois was right there, as well.

That means Carney has effectively created another opportunity to expand his majority.

It was a move so politically elegant that even Poilievre couldn’t attack it.

Instead of denouncing the appointment as a cynical attempt to weaken the Conservatives, Poilievre publicly congratulated Martel and wished him well in the Senate.

He really had no other choice.

Had he lashed out (as he usually does), he would have looked petty toward one of his own MPs receiving what has traditionally been viewed as a prestigious public appointment.

Had he criticized Martel personally, he risked alienating Conservative supporters in Quebec.

Had he attacked Carney, he would have appeared to be complaining about a prime minister appointing someone from the opposition — hardly an argument likely to resonate with many Canadians.

Carney boxed him in.

That’s the hallmark of an effective political tactician. The best moves don’t simply advance your own position, they deprive your opponent of any effective counterattack.

Political observers often focus on flashy announcements or dramatic question period exchanges, but the most consequential politics frequently happens in quieter moments such as this, where one decision creates multiple advantages simultaneously.

Carney gets to claim bipartisanship, he weakens the Conservative caucus, he creates a potentially winnable byelection and he leaves Poilievre applauding the whole thing.

It’s difficult to script a better political outcome.

The move also fits a broader pattern that has emerged under Carney.

Since becoming prime minister, he has generally avoided the overt partisan combat that characterized much of former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s years. Instead, he has projected competence and moderation while making carefully calculated political decisions that nevertheless strengthen his own government’s position.

That combination can be particularly dangerous for political opponents.

When governments make aggressively partisan moves, they often energize the opposition. Critics have obvious targets and clear lines of attack.

But when the politics are wrapped in the language of co-operation and national interest, it becomes much harder for opponents to generate outrage.

Carney has demonstrated an ability to package political advantage as institutional reform or bipartisan outreach.

Whether that’s his intention or simply the byproduct of his governing style hardly matters. The political effect is the same.

None of this suggests Martel was unqualified for the Senate or somehow acted improperly in accepting the appointment. Senate appointments have always involved an element of political judgment. Prime ministers are entitled to choose people they believe can contribute to public life.

The point is that Carney understood every political consequence that would flow from this appointment.

Losing another MP from caucus, regardless of the circumstances, is never welcome for an opposition leader trying to present himself as a government-in-waiting. Opening another competitive byelection is hardly ideal either.

The real significance of this episode isn’t that one Conservative MP is now a senator. It’s that Canada’s newest prime minister demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of political leverage.

For someone whose critics once questioned whether he possessed the instincts required for partisan politics, Carney is beginning to supply the answer.

If this Senate appointment is any indication, his opponents should expect more moves that look gracious on the surface while quietly advancing Liberal interests underneath. That’s often the most effective politics of all.

» Tom Brodbeck is a Winnipeg Free Press columnist.