On the trail: Anatomy of a Carney meet and greet at a Georgetown watering hole

Liberal Leader Mark Carney's campaign bus rolls into the municipality of Georgetown, Ont. on March 31, 2025.

The public may not be aware that, while a group of national reporters accompanies Liberal leader Mark Carney during his campaign, not everyone gets to be present for each of his public events.

In smaller venues, only the pool television crew and a Canadian Press reporter get to be our eyes and ears as to what is going on.

But the combination of pool reporting and journalists on the outside gives our news audience a more complete picture of what is going on.

On a brisk Monday afternoon, Mark Carney’s campaign bus pulled up outside the St. George restaurant and pub in the quaint municipality of Georgetown, Ont. The town has a population of 45,000 people and is a 45-minute drive west of Toronto.

As part of an electoral re-districting, the town has become part of the new riding of Milton East-Halton Hills South. The seat is up for grabs and Kristina Tesser Derksen is the Liberal candidate running for office.

Outside waiting to see Carney was about a crowd of 50 to 60 people who couldn’t get inside the pub, which was filled to capacity.

But this wasn’t a completely friendly crowd. A man walking his dog bellowed in the direction of broadcast cameras.

Also waiting a small group of citizen bloggers who post videos on social media and show up at candidate events to shout questions or insults. Among this group was a protestor wearing a black puffer coat with a patch depicting a red and white maple leaf skull design. He carried a bullhorn.

Carney’s bus arrived around 4:45 p.m. The Liberal Leader was accompanied by his wife Diana Fox Carney, who is joining her husband for the first time on the campaign trail this week.

A group of about a dozen officers helped clear a path for Carney to walk into the St. George restaurant.

Carney spent about a half hour inside the pub, where he urged supporters to stand up against U.S. President Donald Trump and vote for him.

He poured a draught of Moosehead beer from the tap but did not drink it. Liberal staffers say Carney, a practicing Catholic, gave up beer for Lent.

After a half hour, Carney left through a side door of the restaurant. Before he got in the bus, he took a few moments to pose for selfies.

The skull patch protester continued his barrage of complaints, blaming Carney and the Liberals for “tent cities” and “taxes on taxes.”

A man who came to see Carney, called the protestor a “moron,” while others started chanting “Carney, Carney” to drown him out.

By 5:20 p.m., Carney was on the bus heading towards the airport enroute to another campaign stop in Winnipeg.