Liberal MP Steven Guilbeault shares a laugh with Prime Minister Mark Carney as they arrive to a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Dec. 10, 2025. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick
Commentary
While Alberta Premier Danielle Smith tries to maintain a balancing act between sovereigntists in Alberta and federalists, Prime Minister Mark Carney is walking a tightrope between factions within his own party that is no less precarious. The risk in trying to placate disparate views for too long is having a faction break away in discontent. Carney can only maintain equilibrium for so long before he finds himself forced to stand solidly on one side of his party or the other.
