Mark Carney on Sunday won the race to become Canada’s next prime minister, putting the former central banker in charge of the country just as US President Donald Trump’s administration threatens its economic future.
The former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor won the contest to lead the Liberal Party of Canada with 85.9 per of the vote. The transfer of power from Justin Trudeau to Mr Carney is expected to take place within days.
Mr Carney, 59, takes the reins at a time when the White House is creating upheaval in the global economy – and with US trading partners – with increasingly chaotic tariff announcements.
In three days in the past week, Mr Trump imposed 25 per cent levies on most Canadian and Mexican goods, then promised a one-month delay on those that comply with the North American trade agreement, then threatened major new tariffs against Canadian lumber and dairy.
Howard Lutnick, the US Commerce Secretary, indicated on Sunday that he expects 25 per cent tariffs on US imports of steel and aluminium to go ahead on March 12.
Canada is heavily dependent on trade with the US, and Mr Trump has expressed a desire to use “economic force” to make Canada the 51st state. His actions have sparked patriotic fury in the northern nation, with consumers boycotting American products and demanding that governments find new trading partners. Mr Trudeau has said Mr Trump’s threats against Canadian sovereignty should be taken seriously.
“We have made this the greatest country in the world and now our neighbours want to take us,” Mr Carney said in a brief speech before the results were announced on Sunday. “No way.”
Throughout the leadership race, he portrayed himself as an experienced crisis manager who led major central banks at pivotal moments: in Canada, during the global financial crisis; and in the UK, during its tumultuous exit from the EU. But he is relatively untested as a politician and does not hold a seat in Parliament.
Mr Carney has vowed to find new markets for Canada’s exports and reduce internal trade barriers. He has pledged to scrap Liberal plans to increase the capital gains tax, eliminate the consumer carbon tax and use the power of the federal balance sheet to invest in key projects.
He also said he would split the federal budget into two – an operating budget that he promises to balance and a capital spending budget that would be allowed to allocate tens of billions of dollars to investments in productivity-boosting infrastructure.
Canada must hold an election by October, but the Liberal Party’s perilous status in Parliament, where it has fewer than 50 per cent of the House of Commons seats, means it is expected sooner. Mr Carney has to decide whether to plunge the country into a springtime election – leaving it with a caretaker government for several weeks, during which a trade war may be raging – or try to gain support from at least one opposition party to govern for a period of time.
Mr Trudeau’s resignation, Mr Carney’s candidacy and Mr Trump’s threats have propelled the Liberals into a more competitive position in public opinion polls after more than a year of trailing the Conservative Party by a large margin. For weeks, the Conservatives have been running frequent attack ads against Mr Carney.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has accused Mr Carney of being opaque about his promises and his business interests – calling on him to disclose his financial holdings to reveal any possible conflicts of interest.
