BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN ROSE
Former central banker Mark Carney sets to succeed Justin Trudeau as Canada prime minister after the governing Liberal Party elected him as its leader Sunday as the country deals with U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and annexation threat, and a federal election looms.
Trudeau has imposed C$30 billion of retaliatory tariffs on the United States in response to tariffs Trump levied on Canada.
Carney replaces Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had announced his resignation in January but remains prime minister until his successor is sworn in in the coming days. Carney won in a landslide, winning 85.9% of the vote.
Carney said Canada will keep retaliatory tariffs in place until “the Americans show us respect.”
Carney navigated crises when he was the head of the Bank of Canada and when in 2013 he became the first noncitizen to run the Bank of England since it was founded in 1694. His appointment won bipartisan praise in the U.K. after Canada recovered from the 2008 financial crisis faster than many other countries.
The opposition Conservatives hoped to make the election about Trudeau, whose popularity declined as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged.
Trump’s trade war and his talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state have infuriated Canadians, who are booing the American anthem at NHL and NBA games. Some are canceling trips south of the border, and many are avoiding buying American goods when they can.
The surge in Canadian nationalism has bolstered the Liberal Party’s chances in a parliamentary election expected within days or weeks, and Liberal showings have been improving steadily in opinion polls.
Carney said America is “a melting pot. Canada is mosaic,” he said. “America is not Canada. And Canada will never, ever will be a part of America in any way, shape or form.”
After decades of bilateral stability, the vote on Canada’s next leader now is expected to focus on who is best equipped to deal with the United States.
Trump has postponed 25% tariffs on many goods from Canada and Mexico for a month, amid widespread fears of a broader trade war. But he has threatened other tariffs on steel, aluminum, dairy and other products.
Carney picked up one endorsement after another from Cabinet ministers and members of Parliament since declaring his candidacy in January. He is a highly educated economist with Wall Street experience who has long been interested in entering politics and becoming prime minister, but he lacks political experience.
In 2020, he began serving as the United Nations’ special envoy for climate action and finance.
Carney is a former Goldman Sachs executive. He worked for 13 years in London, Tokyo, New York and Toronto, before being appointed deputy governor of the Bank of Canada in 2003.
The other top Liberal leadership candidate was former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who received just eight percent of the vote. Trudeau told Freeland in December that he no longer wanted her as finance minister, but that she could remain deputy prime minister and the point person for U.S.-Canada relations. Freeland resigned shortly after, releasing a scathing letter about the government that proved to be the last straw for Trudeau.
Carney is expected to trigger an election shortly. Either he will call one, or the opposition parties in Parliament could force one with a no-confidence vote later this month.
Trudeau urged Liberals supporters to get involved.
