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But at a time of deep global uncertainty and the dual threats of Pierre Poilievre鈥檚 Conservatives and U.S. President Donald Trump, quite a few left-of-centre voters held their noses this spring and loaned Carney their votes. No doubt Carney鈥檚 resum茅 reassured some voters that he had the steadiest hands to steer Canada through choppy waters.

That鈥檚 also why many Canadians have been willing to cut Carney some slack and give him time to navigate a set of circumstances that are objectively unprecedented.

That said, even after accounting for these scaled-back expectations, Carney still somehow finds ways to completely miss the mark.

Recall the American president鈥檚 mad ramblings about annexing Canadian territory. Carney harnessed the defiant and patriotic energy sweeping the nation during this spring鈥檚 federal election, even appearing in an 鈥淓lbows Up, Canada鈥� election ad at a hockey rink with comedian Mike Myers.

This defiant tone also resonated with working-class voters. After all, some of the loudest calls to 鈥渉it back hard鈥� against Trump came from Canadian labour unions representing workers most vulnerable to Trump鈥檚 tariff threats. Liberal pledges to 鈥減rotect our workers鈥� created the impression Canada was actually going to drop the gloves and, as Carney himself put it, 鈥渇ight.鈥�

As it turned out, it didn鈥檛 take long for Carney鈥檚 elbows to go from up to down.

Following one of the American president鈥檚 social media tirades in June, Carney鈥檚 government announced it would drop the Digital Services Tax, first introduced by Trudeau鈥檚 Liberals to make 鈥渕ultinational digital giants鈥� 鈥� including big American tech companies 鈥� 鈥減ay their fair share鈥� in taxes on profits earned in Canada. The Carney government insisted the flip-flop was necessary to 鈥渁dvance broader trade negotiations with the United States鈥� on a trade deal.

Of course, no deal ever materialized and, in fact, Trump went ahead and imposed tariffs anyway. Walking back further, Carney later announced in August that Canada was dropping its retaliatory tariffs against the United States altogether. So much for 鈥渆lbows up.鈥�

To be clear, Carney took a strong position on the single defining issue of the biggest Canadian election in a generation and then basically flip-flopped.

It鈥檚 too easy to rationalize these choices as the natural realities of governance. The sheer obliviousness to how these actions are at odds with what was presented during the election is stunning given Carney is still presiding over a minority government.

As for fighting to protect Canadian workers? In the spring, Carney鈥檚 government intervened in one labour dispute between postal workers and Canada Post. Then Air Canada flight attendants were ordered back-to-work last month. Apparently 鈥渆lbows up鈥� doesn鈥檛 apply to a workers鈥� right to strike.

And after accusing Poilievre鈥檚 Conservatives of 鈥渉iding鈥� planned cuts to public services, Carney is now planning to introduce his own 鈥渁usterity budget鈥� with 15% cuts across every department. The cuts, which will likely include job losses, were not something Carney talked about on the campaign trail, let alone with his local constituents in suburban Ottawa, who could be hardest hit by public service job losses.

More recently, Carney鈥檚 office invited one of the architects of Trump鈥檚 Project 2025 agenda to brief cabinet behind closed doors. Though this appearance was later cancelled, the invite confused Carney鈥檚 own caucus too. As one Liberal MP told The Tyee: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a betrayal of Liberal voters, undermines the core theme of our campaign, and is an utter disgrace for a self-respecting democracy facing the rise of fascism next door.鈥�

It鈥檚 puzzling why Carney keeps doing things that alienate his own supporters, let alone his own MPs. After all, the reason Carney is sitting in the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office is because progressive swing voters made a strategic choice to lend him their votes 鈥� they didn鈥檛 lend Carney their vote to appease Trump, impose austerity or roll back workers鈥� rights.

Carney may genuinely believe he鈥檚 being pragmatic or putting the 鈥渘ational interest鈥� above all else. But increasingly it looks more and more like Carney simply misunderstands the mandate he was handed by his own voters.