Desk:Canada is about to have a new Prime Minister, as Mark Carney, 59, won the Liberal Party election, defeating former finance minister Chrystia Freeland. Carney will be replacing Justin Trudeau, who announced in January that he would step down. This comes at a critical time for Canada, with ongoing tensions with both the United States, amid a tariff war, and India. Trudeau’s departure marks the end of his nine-year tenure.
In the election held on Sunday, nearly 152,000 members of the Liberal Party cast their votes, with Carney receiving 86% of the votes. Carney, who is considered a political novice, believes that he is the best choice to revamp the party and handle ongoing discussions with the United States, especially given the trade tensions. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose high tariffs on Canada, which could significantly affect the Canadian economy.
Mark Carney’s Background
Carney, born in 1965 in Fort Smith, has never been elected to office. He graduated from Harvard and worked for 13 years at Goldman Sachs. In 2003, he became the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada, and in 2008, he was appointed Governor. During the global economic crisis of 2008-2009, Carney led the central bank. In 2013, he became the first non-British Governor of the Bank of England and is the only person to have headed two G7 central banks. After leaving the Bank of England in 2020, Carney served as the UN’s Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance.
