Ottawa, Canada – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is facing pressure and criticism from his political rivals after Canada's economy recorded a minor shrink over the last quarter.

Official figures released last week showed that Canada's economy contracted by 0.1% in the first quarter of 2026. Seeing as the news follows a reduction of 1% in 2025's last quarter, some economists are warning of a recession.

"Mark Carney has created the only G7 economy in a recession," Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre told reporters in Ottawa on Monday, pointing out that people are "struggling to pay their essentials."

This is the first time that Canada has experienced two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

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The economic shrinkage comes after more than a year of damaging tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump in the US, and as North American countries try to renegotiate the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Trump's sectoral tariffs on autos, steel, aluminum, and lumber have significantly slowed growth, with analysts warning that the uncertainty brought on by the trade war is hurting Canada's economy.

Trade tensions with the US have also hit Canada's job market, which lost 112,000 positions over the first quarter of 2026.

Despite the international context, Poilievre laid blame at the feet of Carney, who has held office since early 2025. He seized on fears of a "Liberal recession" and blamed it on government policy.

"The only way out of this Liberal recession is to reverse the policies that caused it in the first place," Poilievre told reporters.

"That is why we are calling on the Prime Minister to get back in the House of Commons and introduce a bill to reverse all the economic policies his party has introduced."