Former central banker Mark Carney will become Canadian’s next prime minister after the Governance Liberal Party elected his leader on Sunday as the country deals with the threat of Trump’s trade war and annexation and a federal election looms.
Carney, 59, announced his resignation in January but will replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who will remain prime minister until his successor is sworn in the coming days. Kearney won on the landslide and won by 85.9% of the vote.
“There are people trying to weaken our economy,” Carney said. “As we know, Donald Trump places unfair tariffs on what we have built, what we sell, how we make a living. He attacks Canadian families, workers, businesses, and we can’t make him a success, but we don’t.”
Carney said Canada will maintain retaliatory tariffs until “Americans show respect for us.”
“We didn’t ask for this fight, but when someone else drops their gloves, the Canadians are always ready,” Carney said. “Americans, they shouldn’t make a mistake in trade. In hockey, Canada will win.”
Carney sailed through the crisis when he was head of the Bank of Canada and became the first non-citizen to run the Bank of England since its establishment in 2013 in 1694.
Opposition Conservatives wanted to hold an election on Trudeau as food and housing prices rose and immigration spikes.
Trump’s trade war and his talk of making Canada the 51st US state have infuriated Canadians booing the American national anthem in the NHL and NBA games. Some people have cancelled their trips south of the border, while others avoid buying American products whenever possible.
The surge in Canadian nationalism has strengthened the Liberal Party’s chances in parliamentary elections expected within days or weeks, and the liberal show has steadily improved in opinion polls.
“Americans want our resources, our water, our land, our country. Think about it. If they succeed, they will destroy our way of life,” Carney said. “In America, healthcare is a big company. In Canada, that’s right.”
Carney said America is “a melting pot, Canada is a mosaic.” “The United States is not Canada, and Canada will never become part of America in any way, in any way, in its shape or form.”
After decades of bilateral stability, votes for Canada’s next leader are now expected to focus on the best people to deal with the US.
“These are dark days, dark days brought about by a country we can no longer trust,” Carney said. “We’re over the shock, but never forget the lesson. We have to take care of ourselves, we have to be careful of each other. We have to put together it all together on the toughest days ahead.”
Trump has postponed a 25% tariff on many goods from Canada and Mexico for a month amid widespread fears about the wider trade war. However, he is threatening other tariffs on steel, aluminum, dairy products and other products.
Since declaring his nominee in January, Carney has gained support after support from Cabinet Ministers and members of Parliament. He is a higher-educated economist with Wall Street experience, who has been interested in getting into politics for a long time and becoming prime minister, but has no political experience.
In 2020 he began working as a UN special envoy for climate action and finances.
Kearney is a former Goldman Sachs executive. He worked in London, Tokyo, New York and Toronto for 13 years before being appointed lieutenant governor of the Bank of Canada in 2003.
Another liberal leadership candidate was former vice-prime minister Christire Freeland. Trudeau told Freeland in December that he no longer wanted her as finance minister, but she could remain the deputy prime minister and pointer for US-Canadian relations. Freeland soon resigned and released a poignant letter about the government, which proved to be Trudeau’s last straw.
Kearney is expected to trigger an election soon. He could call one or force one with no confidence later this month by a vote of no confidence.
Trudeau urged liberal supporters to get involved.
“This is a state-defined moment. No democracy is given, no freedom is given, not even in Canada,” Trudeau said.
Gillies writes for the Associated Press.
