OTTAWA, April 14 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would prioritize lowering the cost of living in Canada, tackling a housing shortage, and building major infrastructure projects to help make Canada's economy more independent with his Liberal Party's new parliamentary majority.
After his party swept three special elections on Monday, capping off an extraordinary few months in Canada when several opposition members joined him, Carney said he accepts the country's support "with humility, determination and a clear understanding of what this moment demands."
The first Liberal majority government in Canada since 2019 should allow Carney more freedom to pass the legislation he says is needed for the country to thrive in "a more divided and dangerous world," including the uncertainty caused by U.S. President Donald Trump and the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Carney has sought to make Canada less dependent on the United States.
"We have to change fundamentally our economy to be stronger, more independent, more prosperous," he said at a Tuesday press briefing to announce a temporary suspension of a fuel tax. He said the measure would reduce Canadians' bills at the gas station by 10 cents per litre on regular gasoline and 4 cents on diesel.
"Canada's new government has been relentlessly focused on making life more affordable for Canadians," he said.
Carney's Liberals won three special elections in Ontario and Quebec, giving him a 174 seat majority in the 343-seat House of Commons.
Carney said he had no plans to shuffle his cabinet before Parliament's summer recess or to call an early election, following criticism from political opponents that five recent defections of legislators to Carney's Liberals undermine the credibility of his majority government.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre took to X to express his dissatisfaction at both the process and the result: "The Carney Liberals did not win a majority government through a general election or today's by-elections. Instead, it was won through backroom deals with politicians who betrayed the people who voted for them."
Carney said in response that Canada was a parliamentary democracy and Canadians elect their local representatives.
Elizabeth McCallion, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto, said Carney's decision to cut the fuel tax comes days after the Conservatives argued for a cut and parties were becoming surprisingly aligned on some policies.
"This will make it more difficult for the opposition parties to actually be adversarial and challenge the government," she said.
(Reporting by Maria ChengEditing by Alexandra Hudson)
