Mark Carney won the leadership race for the Liberal Party of Canada with 85.9 percent of the vote. Former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland finished in second place. Former Cabinet Minister Karina Gould came in third, and businessman Frank Baylis came in fourth.

Carney is not Prime Minister yet, he is the prime minister-designate though he could be sworn into office very soon.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will first formally resign as prime minister. Carney will then be sworn in by Governor General Mary Simon. He will need to appoint a Cabinet. He will lead the Liberals in the next general election, and must decide whether or not to call an early election before Parliament reconvenes on March 24.

Canadian economist and politician Mark Carney was born in Fort Smith, North West Territories, and grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. He earned an undergraduate economics degree from Harvard University and later a master’s and doctoral degrees from Oxford University.

Carney is a former governor of the Bank of Canada where he navigated a worldwide financial crisis for our monetary policy. Later he was governor of the Bank of England during the era of Brexit and early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Carney will be the first prime minister of Canada since John Turner in 1984 who has not been a member of Parliament.

Carney intends to maintain our government’s solid stand against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats. In his victory speech, Carney said Trump’s tariffs were “attacking Canadian workers, families, and businesses.”

He said, “My government will keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us respect — and make credible, reliable commitments to free and fair trade.”

Photo by Jason Hafso on Unsplash