"Economy will continue to decline" — Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary expresses concern over Mark Carney's carbon tax plan

Known for his work on Shark Tank, investor Kevin O'Leary shared his thoughts on Mark Carney's presidential win on Instagram on May 2, 2025. He expressed concerns and claimed that Carney planned to impose a carbon tax on Canadian businesses, stating that it would make the country an unattractive investment destination.

“Wow the first thing @markjcarney does in office is to hammer down #Canadian businesses with more #CarbonTax," stated Kevin in his caption.

Kevin predicted that the economy would decline, and another election would likely follow.

"The economy will continue to decline and there will be another election soon," the Shark Tank investor claimed in his caption.

For context, according to the BBC, Carney repealed Trudeau's carbon pricing program, which offered incentives to reduce fossil fuel use. However, he kept a similar tax on large carbon emitters. Carney's Liberal Party made the claim to reduce emissions while keeping Canadian companies competitive. He even promised to build a national electricity grid to reduce dependence on the US.

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Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary weighed in on Mark Carney's trade stance ahead of the Canadian election

BBC reported that Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Minister, responded to President Donald Trump's tariff threats, promising to implement retaliatory trade measures. Before the election, Kevin O'Leary AKA Mr. Wonderful, shared his thoughts in a Fox interview on March 31, 2025. During the conversation, the Shark Tank investor claimed that Carney's stance was partly driven by then upcoming Canadian federal election.

At the time, the Canadian election hadn't taken place and Kevin expressed that Carney's was influenced by his party's past performance and his need to appeal to voters. Carney's party had been in power for 10 years, and according to Kevin, this context was relevant to understanding why he was making such claims.

“The anti-U.S. rhetoric is being stirred up by Carney because his party devastated the country over the last 10 years, and the only way he can stay in power is to convince people he's the solution against Trump,” stated the Shark Tank investor.

Kevin also noted in the interview that Canada's economy grew 1.4% under the Liberal Party's reign. He talked about the decline in the Canadian dollar's value, which affected the nation's residents' ability to travel abroad. According to the data, the Canadian dollar's value dropped from around 81 US cents in April 2015 to approximately 70 cents in 2024.

Economist Trevor Tombe noted that Canada's real GDP per capita increased by just 1.4% from 2015 to 2024, based on OECD data. Further in the interview, the Shark Tank entrepreneur said that the tension between the leaders would likely subside after the election. According to Kevin, Mark and Pierre's "anti-American stance" was an attempt to appeal to Canadian citizens for votes.

“Carney is doing it the very best he can to say, ‘Look, I will save you against Trump,’ and he throws the rhetoric out every day. Against him, a man named Pierre Poilievre who's also trying to be elected as a conservative — they're both in a crazy rhetoric," claimed Kevin O'Leary.

Back then, he predicted that once the election was over, their stance on the matter would ease, and the next prime minister would focus on negotiating a new trade agreement with the US. Regardless of the election outcome, the new leader would likely meet with US officials to discuss trade.

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Kevin O'Leary is one of the oldest investors in the long-running ABC series Shark Tank. Coincidentally, the current season will be Mark Cuban's last on the reality show.