Since being elected in April 2025, Prime Minister Mark Carney has been absent from 74 per cent of all question periods in the House of Commons.
This attendance record has drawn criticism from opposition parties, pundits and some experts, who believe Carney is showing disregard for Canada’s parliamentary system.
“It’s disturbing to see how little regard Prime Minister Carney has for showing up and facing the questions from opposition,” said Duff Conacher, co-founder of the government accountability watchdog Democracy Watch.
Adopted from the British parliamentary system, question period is a key way government is held to account. It brings the legislative and executive branches of government together for 45 minutes every day that the House of Commons sits.
Question period is actually a key difference between Canada’s governance system and the United States’, says Pierre Martel, a professor of political studies at the University of Ottawa.
In the United States, the president is elected directly through the Electoral College.
“The president has a mandate of four years and can claim that he has the support of the electorate to govern within the parameters of the Constitution,” Martel said.
“Congress … cannot call the president to come in front of the Committee of Congress or explain directly to Congress his stance on different policy issues,” he added. “Congress can also not intervene in the governance of the country through the executive branch.”
In Canada, by contrast, there is “an interdependence” between the executive and legislative branches, says Martel. “Question period is a time where the executive is accountable to the House of Commons.”
Since the April 2025 election, the House of Commons has sat for 137 days. Of those days, Carney attended just 36 question periods.
The Conservatives have said Carney missed 64 of these question periods while Carney was present in Ottawa.
Conacher says these absences while Carney was in Ottawa are the most problematic.
He also says Carney’s sporadic attendance reflects a broader indifference within the Liberal Party toward the parliamentary system. He believes this attitude could hurt the party in future elections.
“I don’t think [question period] is the biggest issue but … the more overall backlash will be on how the Liberals are essentially abusing majority power and ramming things through in Parliament,” he said.
Carney’s government has been criticized for fast-tracking bills through the House of Commons, leaving little room for review and consultations with stakeholders, Conacher notes.
“Swing voters pay attention to how things are done, not just whether things are done,” he said.
Frequent Flyer
In an emailed statement to Canadian Affairs, Sofia Ouslis, the Prime Minister’s Office press secretary, defended Carney’s record, noting his work on major projects and trade relationships.
“Prime Minister Carney has participated in question period on more than a weekly basis, supported by a strong team of ministers who participate every day,” her statement said.
“He has taken a collaborative approach, including meeting with the leaders of all parties to discuss shared legislative priorities.”
In Martel’s view, Carney’s attendance record is not overly concerning because Carney has been clear that international diplomacy and trade deals are priorities.
“The fact that he’s not present daily here in Canada to attend a question period, to me, is not a significant issue,” said Martel, who previously had a lengthy career with the federal government, including a stint as executive director of the Public Service Integrity Office.
Martel points to Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in February, which earned him significant international attention and praise.
“If he had done the same speech in Canada in front of the House of Commons, I don’t think it would have had the international impact.”
‘Not the ideal forum’
Political parties have increasingly used short clips from question period to generate attention on social media.
For Martel, this trend has turned question period “into a theatrical, partisan demonstration of the contrast between different parties.”
This is unfortunate, he says, as social media “is not the ideal forum to debate a policy option in a very rational way.”
But Conacher says that by not attending question period, Carney is dodging accountability not only from the opposition parties, but also the media.
“Those questions and answers can often provide the media with material for stories if the prime minister’s answer is a non-answer or a bad answer,” he said.
“He is avoiding that type of media coverage by failing to show up.”
