Splat: Prime Minister Carney struggles to flip perfect pancake at Calgary Stampede

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, flattop 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.