Splat!: Prime Minister Carney struggles to flip perfect pancake at Calgary Stampede
CALGARY — Prime Minister Mark Carney may be a deft hand when it comes to handling finances, but he proved Saturday that his flapjack flipping could use some work.
Carney attended a pancake breakfast Saturday hosted by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, which attracted a crowd of about 200 people.
'The grill's hot,' Carney told onlookers. 'You guys ready?'
Sizzling on a black, flat-top griddle, Carney slid his spatula under the first hotcake and flipped it, landing with a splat.
In an attempt to redeem himself, he tossed a second into the air, but it, too, landed lopsided and sent batter splatters into the crowd.
'I was better in Ottawa,' Carney joked. 'I got a little cocky there. I'll take responsibility.'
Sliding the two pancake mishaps to the side, Carney said: 'These are mine. I'm not making anyone eat these.'
The prime minister asked if anyone had watched 'The Galloping Gourmet,' a cooking show that aired from the late 1960s and the early '70s.
'He'd be like, 'Here's one I made earlier,'' said Carney, taking a perfectly-made pancake and placing it on the griddle.
One onlooker told the prime minister, 'You're even worse at (flipping pancakes) than Trudeau.'
'There are certain things at my job I'm better at,' Carney quipped. 'I'm better at eating pancakes … I'm better at Eggo waffles.'
The prime minister shook hands and took photos with many people attending the breakfast.
He also ran into Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who took part in some pancake flipping earlier this week with Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek.
'The premier's here. I love your blue hat. It looks like you've got a whole collection,' Carney said.
'I do and I can't wear the same colour all the time,' Smith said. 'But I hear you have a little work to do on your flipping skills.'
'I do,' Carney replied. 'There's video evidence. I'm not going to deny it.'
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was also attending the breakfast, but waited in his vehicle until Carney left.
Smith told Carney that she and Ontario Premier Doug Ford were going to sign a memorandum of understanding on energy, priorities and trade.
'It would be so great if we didn't have net-zero (carbon) rules,' Smith said.
Fresh off door knocking in rural Alberta, Poilievre hosted his own barbecue at Heritage Park in southeast Calgary Saturday evening and addressed a tent full of several hundred party supporters.
The Conservative leader is seeking to regain his spot in the House of Commons after losing his long-held seat in Ottawa in the recent federal election. Poilievre was introduced by Damien Kurek, the former member of Parliament who stepped aside so he could run for the seat.
Poilievre, wearing a cream-coloured cowboy hat, blue jeans and a belt buckle, started his remarks by chirping Carney's earlier performance on the griddle.
'He thought he would be great at it because in his talks with Donald Trump, he's had so much experience flip-flopping,' Poilievre said.
'A careful review of a slow motion replay demonstrated exactly what the problem was. He couldn't figure out whether to keep his elbows up.'
The party is still licking its wounds after its recent loss in the federal election, which appeared to be Poilievre's to lose at this time last year. Poilievre argued that in spite of the loss, his party has been responsible for many of the current federal government's policies, such as the decision to end the consumer price on carbon.
Poilievre will be back in Calgary this coming January for the Conservative national convention, where he will have his leadership tested in a party vote.
'To be honest, I wanted to return here today with an election victory. Though we didn't win, we made extraordinary gains,' he said.
Closing out a speech that railed on the federal government's immigration, fiscal and environment policies, the Calgary-born leader leaned on a Western-themed metaphor.
'When things get hard, we dust ourselves off, we get back in the saddle, and we gallop forward to the fight,' he said. Party members lined up shortly after to take photos with him onstage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5, 2025.
Bill Graveland, Matthew Scace, The Canadian Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
24 minutes ago
- CTV News
Politicians overstating benefits of scrapping internal trade barriers: think tank
OTTAWA — A new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is dismissing moves by the federal government and Canada's premiers to break down internal trade barriers as little more than 'political theatre.' It lands just ahead of the country's internal trade ministers meeting in Quebec City this week, where they are expected to talk about their next steps as they rush to remove rules hampering cross-provincial trade. Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed throughout the spring election to forge 'one Canadian economy' with the premiers by eliminating internal barriers to trade and labour mobility in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland has pointed to studies that say internal trade barriers amount to a seven per cent tariff that Canada imposes on itself, and that removing them could boost the economy by up to $200 billion. But the left-leaning think tank's report released this morning reviews the steps taken by Ottawa and the provinces to remove red tape and argues they will do little to mitigate the tariff threat or significantly boost the economy. The study authors say federal and provincial politicians have only been able to point to a handful of examples where getting rid of overlapping regulations could have an impact. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2025. The Canadian Press
Globe and Mail
34 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Danielle Smith and Doug Ford to sign agreements on energy, trade in Calgary today
The premiers of Alberta and Ontario will meet in Calgary today to sign two new memorandums of understanding. Danielle Smith's office says she and Doug Ford will sign agreements on energy priorities, trade and interprovincial co-operation. The pair were together at a roundtable in Calgary on Sunday, with Ford tweeting that they discussed how to build new pipelines, as well as rail lines to export Canadian critical minerals and energy. Smith bumped into Prime Minister Mark Carney at the Calgary Stampede on Saturday. At the Calgary Stampede, it's cowboy boots, not oxfords, but still time to strike a deal When she told Carney about the documents she and Ford would be signing, she told him it would be 'so great if we didn't have net-zero (carbon) rules.' Ford signed a memorandum in May with Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew to boost the movement of goods and labour between the two provinces. 'The best way to protect Canadian workers from tariffs and economic uncertainty is to build the infrastructure that will get our resources to new markets,' Ford said Sunday in a post on social media, along with photos from his roundtable with Smith. Smith is also scheduled to be at the Premier's Stampede Breakfast early Monday, which will be outside McDougall Centre, where her meeting with Ford will take place later in the day. The rush to break down internal barriers to trade comes in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff war with Canada. One study estimates existing internal trade hurdles cost the economy some $200 billion a year. Throughout the spring federal election campaign, Carney repeatedly vowed to 'eliminate' interprovincial trade barriers and create 'free trade by Canada Day.' In recent months, Smith has called for Carney to abolish several federal policies and programs, including a proposed greenhouse gas emissions cap, net-zero electricity grid regulations and the West Coast tanker ban.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Opinion: The Iranian regime's new war targets its own people
Article content It would send a powerful message to the Iranian people if their abusers were prosecuted rather than protected in Canada. This should be pursued even if only as a matter of Canadian public safety, given their efforts to carry out assassinations in Canada and harass the grieving Canadian families of Flight PS752 victims. IRGC members can be prosecuted under the Criminal Code for being members of a listed terrorist entity, and regime officials for their involvement in abuses under the War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act. Article content Their presence in Canada is a unique opportunity to do so, and their many victims in Canada should be interviewed for evidence by the RCMP as part of a structural investigation, as was done with Ukrainians and victims of ISIS. Article content Canada should also consider expanding targeted sanctions against the architects of repression in Iran, starting with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Article content At the very least, Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Canadian government can speak out for the people of Iran, and continue our traditional diplomatic role of convening our allies to do the same. Article content Article content The regional war may have filled the headlines, but it is the regime's new war against the Iranian people that will define its legacy — and our own. Our shared democratic values, and the vision of a brighter future for Iran and the region, are represented by the civil society leaders languishing in the dungeons of Tehran. And their tormentors represent grave threats to the human rights and security of both Iranians and Canadians. Article content As the Islamic Republic continues its crackdown, platforming the plight of the Iranian people and political prisoners — and holding their persecutors accountable — can be Canada's greatest contribution to protecting our sovereignty from transnational repression and helping to build a more stable and peaceful Middle East.
