Inside Mark Carney's leadership campaign launch: Teleprompter issues, mystery limo and an unexpected supporter
CBC
Mark Carney's official campaign launch for Liberal leader included high praise from supporters and some unexpected moments behind the scenes, including a glitchy Teleprompter, a mysterious limousine booking and police showing up on scene.
The launch took place at the Laurier Heights Community League in Edmonton in a hall that holds around 140 people. The indoor space sat next to the outdoor rink where Carney grew up playing hockey — a detail he spoke about in his speech while trying to emphasize his Western roots.
As organizers packed supporters into the room before Carney walked out, his father's former political opponent walked in and sat down in the front row of the crowd.
Douglas Roche, a former longtime Progressive Conservative MP, defeated Bob Carney, who ran for the Liberals in Edmonton-South in the 1980 federal election.
Roche told CBC News he showed up to back Carney because he's "extremely concerned with the future of this country."
"In my political experience, I've never seen such a challenge to the integrity and future of Canada," Roche said. "I think that Mark Carney is the one who can pull our country together and move forward."
Roche said incoming U.S. president Donald Trump has "challenged Canada like never before" and it will be a challenge to pull back the "political pendulum" that's swinging right. He said the country would be well served with Carney as prime minister because of his deep understanding of economics.
As Carney's speech got underway and he made his pitch to Liberals about why, despite not being the "usual suspect" when it comes to politics, he thinks he can win the next election and take on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, his Teleprompter crashed more than once.
CBC News saw the prompter rebooting and quickly scrolling through his speech multiple times to try and catch up to where he was. During the glitches, Carney looked down at his notes and seemed to pace himself while the text caught up.
Some, like Sebastian Perez with the University of Alberta Young Liberal Chapter, responded positively to Carney's slower delivery, calling the speech "very heartfelt."
"Especially because right now there's a lot of fast-paced energy going around," Perez said. "And especially like even just his tone of voice really helped smooth things down. I think he's one of the smartest people in the room."
The prompter was just one glitch at the launch. Before the doors opened, a white limousine outfitted to look like a Rolls-Royce pulled up in the parking lot as journalists waited outside.
The driver said he was picking someone up, but didn't know who. After about five minutes facing questions and video cameras, the driver slowly backed out of the lot.
The limo company later told CBC News they have no idea who booked the vehicle and all they had was the requester's phone number and they repeatedly didn't pick up.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Edmonton-based country singer Patrick Masse, like millions of other Canadians, applied for relief benefits.
The chase for a non-traditional holiday feast prompted the City of Mount Pearl to issue a traffic notice for the area of Commonwealth Avenue on Saturday.
A white, wooden church by the St. John River with roots going back to 1775 is being dismantled after years of deterioration caused by flooding.
Since opening his small family-run restaurant with his mother back in 2021, Abdul Raziq Khan says he's worked hard to create a sense of community centred on giving back.
Residents of a northern Manitoba First Nation are being told that their power will not be restored until late in the day on New Year’s Eve.
On most mornings at La Suerte Bakery and Resto in Prince Albert, the day starts before sunrise.
A washout has closed Highway 16 on Haida Gwaii as a round of heavy rain lashes B.C.'s North Coast.
Environment Canada's wind warning for Toronto has ended, but high winds and power outages persist across Ontario Monday evening as areas north of the city for snow squalls.
The national RCMP union is criticizing what it calls a "misleading" report that urges Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government to continue steps to ditch the Mounties.
Toronto police said a man is in custody in connection with a suspected arson at a federal government office building in North York Monday.
Yellowknife RCMP say that no one was seriously injured after an allegedly impaired driver rammed her car into and through the front entrance of the Explorer Hotel on Christmas Eve.
Members of a Canadian delegation that was denied entry to the West Bank earlier this month are calling on Ottawa to tighten sanctions targeting new Israeli settlements in occupied territory.
Vendors at the Charlottetown Farmers’ Market are coming together for a one-time pop-up event this week after a fire forced the market to close indefinitely.