Carney, Poilievre grill one another on affordability and U.S. tensions as House of Commons returns

We're only a few questions into this QP and the Conservatives are so far winning the heckling game.

The Conservative bench has been drowning Carney out at times with yelling and desk thumping.

"It's a trick question!" "Guilty!"

Carney is now yelling louder to be heard.

The leader of the Opposition always gets the first crack in question period.

Poilievre asked Carney whether he agrees Canada should be a place where “hard work is rewarded” and basic needs are affordable.

Carney welcomed Poilievre back to the House and then said he agreed with the premise of the question.

The tone was generally friendly in that first exchange.

But it didn’t last long. Poilievre suggested that Carney hadn't been keeping his promises while Carney quipped that the Liberals had — and suggested that Poilievre had missed it while he was absent from the House in the spring.

Poilievre gets a loud cheer from the Opposition benches as he stands for his first question period. He made a joke about never being late and thanked Carney for calling a quick byelection.

I’ve moved to the gallery to watch this first question period. Poilievre and Carney entered the chamber, met in the middle of the floor and shook hands.

A sign of more conciliatory times to come?

The last question is reserved for MPs that don’t belong to officially recognized parties.

That means the NDP will have to wait to get their chance to needle the government — unless Green Party Leader Elizabeth May gets her turn today.

Don’t expect Carney to respond to an NDP or Green question. The prime minister usually leaves after the first few rounds of questions and lets his ministers take a turn.

Justin Trudeau usually answered every question during Wednesday question periods when he was prime minister. But Carney won’t be carrying on that practice.

NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice, speaking from Parliament Hill ahead of the first sitting of the fall session, is asked what it would take for the NDP to support a budget from Mark Carney's Liberal government.

The NDP, whittled down to just seven MPs, is still figuring out how to be heard. The left-leaning party does not have recognized status, meaning its MPs no longer sit on committees, has fewer questions during question period and its funding has taken a hit.

With a looming leadership race, the party says it’s reflecting on why progressive voters jumped ship.

As my colleague Marina von Stackelberg reported from the party’s caucus last week, the NDP sees an opportunity to regain the trust of voters on the left as they see Carney move the Liberals to the political right.

That's leaving a growing space for the New Democrats' progressive voice on issues like climate change, Indigenous rights and labour.

But in the cacophony of the House of Commons, and with Trump still making noise south of the border, the question is whether that message gets through.

Carney has a strong minority government, but a minority nonetheless. That means the Liberals will need opposition support to get their agenda through (and stave off a confidence vote).

Enter: Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, who holds the balance of power.

In the spring, he promised a temporary truce in the name of stability. On Monday, he said he "will collaborate with anyone that favours Quebec’s interest."

Traditionally after byelections, the party leader and another high-ranking party MP will walk new parliamentarians into the House chamber to claim their seats.

Because Poilievre is the party leader, watch for senior Conservatives like Andrew Scheer, Melissa Lantsman or Tim Uppal to escort him into the chamber.

Hi folks, I’m a senior writer with the politics team in Ottawa.

As mentioned, one key change we’ll see today is that Poilievre is expected to be back in his seat across from Carney.

This will be the first time the two go head-to-head in question period. Remember: Carney didn’t have a seat in the House until after the spring election and Poilievre lost his seat in that same vote.

But the Conservative leader is back after a decisive victory in an Alberta byelection last month.

Carney, a former central banker, has promised to cut the government’s operating budget, likely meaning government services, programs and jobs are on the line, while committing to major investments and projects.

It’ll be an interesting test for a man who has an international reputation for his economic bona fides.

Last December’s fall economic statement (which was overshadowed when then finance minister Chrystia Freeland abruptly quit cabinet) showed the federal deficit ballooned to nearly $62 billion.