Canada's new PM: Mark Carney set to take the helm amid trade war and election frenzy

In the face of a federal election and the trade war and annexation threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump, former central banker Mark Carney was chosen as the head of the ruling Liberal Party on Sunday, making him Canada’s next prime minister.

Carney, 59, succeeds Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who resigned in January but will continue in office until his replacement is inaugurated in in the following days.  Carney won by a landslide, with 85.9% of the vote.

“There is someone who is trying to weaken our economy,” Carney said. “Donald Trump, as we know, has put unjustified tariffs on what we build, on what we sell and how we make a living. He’s attacking Canadian families, workers and businesses and we cannot let him succeed and we won’t.”

Carney said Canada will keep retaliatory tariffs in place until “the Americans show us respect.”

“We didn’t ask for this fight. But Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves,” Carney said. “The Americans, they should make no mistake, in trade, as in hockey, Canada will win.”

Carney handled crises as governor of the Bank of Canada and, in 2013, as the first non-citizen to lead the Bank of England since its founding in 1694.  His selection drew bipartisan support in the United Kingdom because Canada recovered from the 2008 financial crisis quicker than many other nations.

The opposition Conservatives wanted to focus the election on Trudeau, whose popularity had dipped as food and housing costs soared and immigration increased.

Trump’s trade war and threats of making Canada the 51st state have enraged Canadians, who are booing the American anthem during NHL and NBA games.  Some are cancelling vacations south of the border, and many are avoiding buying American products whenever possible.

The surge in Canadian nationalism has bolstered the Liberal Party’s chances in a parliamentary election expected within days or weeks, and Liberal showings have been improving steadily in opinion polls.

“The Americans want our resources, our water, our land, our country. Think about it. If they succeeded they would destroy our way of life,” Carney said. “In America health care is big business. In Canada it is a right.”

Carney said America is “a melting pot. Canada is mosaic,” he said. “America is not Canada. And Canada will never, ever will be a part of America in any way, shape or form.”

After decades of bilateral stability, the vote on Canada’s next leader now is expected to focus on who is best equipped to deal with the United States.

“These are dark days, dark days brought on by a country we can no longer trust,” Carney said. “We are getting over the shock but let us never forget the lessons. We have to look after ourselves and we have to look out for each other. We need to pull together in the tough days ahead.”

Trump has postponed 25% tariffs on many goods from Canada and Mexico for a month, amid widespread fears of a broader trade war. But he has threatened other tariffs on steel, aluminum, dairy and other products.

Carney picked up one endorsement after another from Cabinet ministers and members of Parliament since declaring his candidacy in January. He is a highly educated economist with Wall Street experience who has long been interested in entering politics and becoming prime minister, but he lacks political experience.

In 2020, he began serving as the United Nations’ special envoy for climate action and finance.

Carney is a former Goldman Sachs executive. He worked for 13 years in London, Tokyo, New York and Toronto, before being appointed deputy governor of the Bank of Canada in 2003.

The other top Liberal leadership candidate was former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who received just eight percent of the vote. Trudeau told Freeland in December that he no longer wanted her as finance minister, but that she could remain deputy prime minister and the point person for U.S.-Canada relations. Freeland resigned shortly after, releasing a scathing letter about the government that proved to be the last straw for Trudeau.

Carney is expected to trigger an election shortly. Either he will call one, or the opposition parties in Parliament could force one with a no-confidence vote later this month.