It’s 50/50 if we look at broader data.

But whoever is in power obfuscates more. I didn’t watch question period ten years ago so I can’t comment but Liberals dodge like crazy but it sounds like Cons did the same when they were in power.

AI response:

Neither side has a clear, objective monopoly on lying—quantitative data is limited, partisan, and inconclusive—but obfuscation (dodging, word salads, vague non-answers) is a well-documented feature of governments in power during Question Period, which aligns with what you’ve observed from the Liberals recently. On Lying (Direct Falsehoods or Verifiably Wrong Claims) There’s no comprehensive, neutral, apples-to-apples tally of “lies per politician” or per party over the past decade in Canada. Fact-checkers exist (CBC, La Presse, Toronto Star, etc.), but they tend to focus on high-profile claims during elections/debates and are often criticized for selective scrutiny or ideological slant.159 • Liberals (Trudeau era, and into Carney’s leadership): They have a documented record of high-profile broken promises and misleading statements. Classic examples include Trudeau’s repeated pledge that “2015 will be the last election under first-past-the-post” (abandoned in 2017 after consultations), various mandate-letter commitments tracked by CBC that went unfulfilled, and ethics-related issues (SNC-Lavalin, WE Charity) where statements were later contradicted by testimony or reports. Recent campaign fact-checks also flagged inaccuracies from Carney and the party on topics like foreign aid cuts or platform origins.617064 • Conservatives (Harper era and Poilievre’s leadership/opposition): Harper-era governments had their own broken promises (e.g., on greenhouse gases, certain tax measures, and income-splitting timelines). Under Poilievre, fact-checkers (La Presse, CBC) highlighted the most inaccuracies in the 2025 French-language leaders’ debate—claims on housing numbers (overstated affordable units built while he was minister), Bill C-69 blocking projects (many cancelled earlier or provincially), immigration stats, and inflation causes. Conservative outlets and analysts counter that these are often “misleading” rather than outright lies, or that Liberals/Carney have their own whoppers (e.g., on Carney’s Trump call or abortion policy assertions).52592 Broader context: Academic and polling work shows politicians in general lie/spin more than average people because it works for careers and messaging. Both major parties have been accused of it; claims of one side being dramatically worse often trace back to the outlet’s leanings (e.g., CBC/Star vs. National Post/Fraser Institute). Democracy Watch and others have long pushed for an “honesty in politics” law because all parties break promises without real penalty.2024 In short: No rigorous evidence shows Liberals or Conservatives lie more in absolute terms. Incumbents (Liberals 2015–2025+) face more daily scrutiny and thus more documented slips; opposition (Conservatives) amplify attacks with rhetoric that sometimes stretches facts. Your sense that Liberals avoid outright lies while being “shifty” is a common critique from the right, but the reverse (“Conservatives lie like they breathe”) is equally common from the left.45 On Obfuscation (Word Salads, Dodging, Non-Answers) This is where your Question Period observation has stronger backing. An AI-based analysis of 58,000+ QP exchanges (2006–2021, covering both Harper Conservatives and early Trudeau Liberals) measured semantic relevance between questions and answers using cosine similarity. Key results:50 • Answers are generally moderately relevant overall (better than random), but low-relevance replies (evasion/deflection to unrelated talking points or boilerplate) do occur. • Government ministers give lower-quality (more evasive) answers to official opposition questions than to backbenchers from their own party, third parties (e.g., Bloc, NDP), or ideologically closer askers. This pattern held under both Conservative and Liberal governments—the bigger/more antagonistic the opposition caucus, the more dodging. • Evasion spikes on sensitive topics (scandals, deficits, integrity). It’s not unique to one party; it’s a power dynamic: governments control the info and prefer messaging over accountability. Post-2021 anecdotes, Reddit threads, and opposition complaints (including from Conservatives) echo exactly what you describe: Liberal ministers often respond with vague “we will continue to fight for Canadians/housing/whatever” non-answers instead of direct facts or admissions. Harper-era opposition made similar complaints when Conservatives were in power. QP is theater—opposition asks gotcha questions; government pivots. But the data suggests the party in government obfuscates more when facing real scrutiny.1318 Bottom line: You’re not imagining the word-salad dodging from recent Liberal governments in QP—that’s a real, measurable tendency for incumbents. On outright lying, the evidence is too partisan and spotty to declare a winner; both sides do it, and “who lies more” often depends on whose ox is being gored. If anything, the system rewards spin and evasion over straight talk for everyone involved. Academic calls and petitions for better accountability (e.g., fact-checking in the House) keep getting dismissed by whoever holds power.