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Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of England, launched his campaign to become Canada’s prime minister by touting his financial expertise in a country where voters remain angry over the outgoing prime minister’s handling of the economy Justin Trudeau.
Carney told a crowd in Edmonton, Alberta, on Thursday that he was making his proposal at an “extraordinary” time — an apparent reference to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Canadian exports.
Carney, who also led Canada’s central bank before moving to London in 2013, said he would make the country’s economy the strongest in the G7, acknowledging that growth had been too slow, wages too low and overpriced groceries under Trudeau, a fellow Liberal.
“I’m going to be incredibly focused on getting our economy back on its feet,” Carney said in Western Canada. “I’m here to ask for your support, I’m here to fight this fight.”
The Liberal candidate, who most recently served as an executive in New York at alternative asset manager Brookfield, tried to present himself as an outsider, unlike Pierre Poilievre, the conservative leader and longtime politician who has opened up a huge advance. in national polls.
“I’m not the usual suspect when it comes to politics, but now is not the time for politics as usual,” Carney said.
Carney’s announcement ends months of speculation about whether the former central banker would attempt to replace Trudeau, who announced he was resigning as Liberal leader on Jan. 6 after months of infighting among the parties and falling polls.
Chrystia Freeland, whose resignation as Trudeau’s finance minister last month sparked the Liberal leadership crisis, is expected to announce her own candidacy. “I will have more to say soon,” she said. job on X Thursday. A person close to Freeland said she may launch her campaign in Toronto on Sunday.
Canada’s parliamentary system means that, as in the United Kingdom, the leader of the largest party in the House of Commons has the right to form a government and become prime minister.
If Carney wins the Liberal leadership vote on March 9, he will become Canada’s next prime minister even though he is not an elected official – unlike Freeland and Trudeau, he is not a Canadian MP. He would then lead the party into the federal elections which must take place no later than October 20.
But Trudeau’s Liberal successor as leader could face an immediate vote of no confidence when Parliament resumes on March 24, forcing early elections.
The power vacuum in Ottawa comes at a time of tensions between the United States and Canada, on the eve of Trump’s inauguration on Monday. The president-elect has repeatedly harassed Trudeau in recent weeks, describing Canada as the “51st state” of the United States and Trudeau as its “governor.”
Carney resigned as president of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management, an asset manager with nearly $1 trillion under management. He headed the Canadian Central Bank from 2008 to 2013 and the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020.
“We are sorry to see him leave, but he is doing so out of his deep sense of public service to Canada and we wish him all the best in his new mission,” Brookfield CEO Bruce Flatt said in a statement Thursday. a press release.
Carney is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bloomberg and United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance. Carney remained a key advisor to the Trudeau government.
Poilievre attacked the former central banker for supporting Trudeau’s efforts to tackle Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions with one of the West’s most aggressive carbon taxes – which has been deeply unpopular in oil-rich Alberta, where Carney grew up.
“Carbon tax Carney supported increasing the NDP-Liberal tax on gas, heating and groceries, QUADRUPLING it to $0.61/L. Just. As. Justin, Poilievre job on X Thursday.
