In a generational crisis in Canada’s relations with the United States, the Canadian Liberal Party selected an unelected technocrat on Sunday with extensive experience in financial markets to replace Justin Trudeau as party leader and the country’s prime minister and as President Trump.
Mark Carney, 59, who guided the Bank of Canada through Brexit through the 2008 global financial crisis and the Bank of England, but never elected to serve, won a leadership contest on Sunday with his friend and former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
He won 85.9% of the votes conducted by Liberal members. According to the party’s leaders, more than 150,000 people voted.
“The United States is not Canada. Canada will never become the United States in any way, form or form. “We didn’t ask for this fight, but when others take off their gloves, Canadians are always ready. ‘
“So, there should be no doubt Americans,” Mr. Carney added. “In trade, like in Canadian hockey, there will be a win.”
He is expected to be sworn in as prime minister at the beginning of this week, officially ending the Trudeau era. His first and most pressing challenge is managing Trump’s threat to Canada’s economy and sovereignty.
However, since Mr. Carney does not have a seat in Parliament, he is expected to hold federal elections soon after he becomes Prime Minister. In those elections, he will face the Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.
It was a critical moment in Canada’s ride, NATO members, and groups of seven industrialized countries and the world’s second largest country.
Mr. Trump puts his thumbs on Canadian politics through ongoing tariffs on Canadian goods, which has the potential to weaken the economy, as well as threatening comments on annexation.
Mr Trudeau summed up much of his own party and Canadian society, addressing a worshiper in Ottawa at the Liberal Party Congress before announcing his successor.
“It’s a moment of definition. Democracy is not given. Freedom is not given,” Mr. Trudeau said. “Even Canada is not a given.”
Mr Carney said he supports the retaliatory tariffs adopted by Canada. “My administration will maintain tariffs until Americans show respect to us,” he said.
Canadian voters advised Opinion researchers that the person who stands best with Trump is the key issue guiding Mr. Carney and his future decisions in the federal election.
Federal elections must be conducted by October in accordance with Canadian regulations. The Conservative Party, led by Mr. Poilievre, has long maintained more than 20 leads in the polls, but the gap has been narrowing since Mr. Trudeau announced his resignation and Mr. Trump has begun taking action against Canada.
The latest poll shows that if most respondents brought the Liberal Party into the election, he would choose Mr. Carney over Mr. Poilievre. The poll also shows that Canadians want Mr. Carney to negotiate with Mr. Trump first with Mr. Poilievre. Mr. Poilievre suffered a serious setback in the polls because some voters believe he is too close to Mr. Trump.
Mr. Carney’s experience in dealing with major crises may also give him an advantage over Mr. Poilievre in terms of people’s perception. Mr. Poilievre, 45, has been a lifelong politician who has no experience outside of the roughness and stumbling of the Canadian Parliament.
The Liberal body gathered around Mr. Carney’s campaign against Ms. Freland, a former lieutenant of Mr. Trudeau, whose resignation in December sparked Mr. Trudeau’s decision to resign.
And it is clear that the Conservatives also viewed Mr. Carney as a bigger threat: it has been negatively advertising him, focusing on his personal wealth and investment decisions.
A key question is whether Mr. Carney can be distinguished enough from Mr. Trudeau, he advised and was friendly with it. Canadians hope that after Mr. Trudeau’s change after a decade, the Conservative Party has been highlighting the personal and ideological connections between the two.
In addition to Mr. Trump, Canada faces many problems, with many voters blaming Mr. Trudeau and most importantly, the affordability crisis, the cost of housing and the living of many Canadians being suppressed.
But more existing problems are also urgent about how Canada runs broader. One is how to utilize Canada’s large number of natural resources, including oil, gas and coal, as well as important fertilizer components, rare minerals and uranium required for nuclear energy.
Mr. Carney, who became a global missionary for green investment in the years following his monetary decision-making career, will need to decide how to take advantage of Canada’s huge natural donations.
Immigration is another key issue for Canadians. Historically, the country has both been open to economic immigration and refugees, but after the pandemic, Mr. Trudeau oversees the rapid growth of temporary immigration to help fill the labor shortage.
This has sparked strong opposition, with immigrants accused of further imposing dysfunctional housing markets and health care systems.
