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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 outgoing premier Justin Trudeau’s handing of the economy.
Carney told a crowd in Edmonton, Alberta, on Thursday that he was making his bid during “extraordinary times” — an apparent reference to US president-elect Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Canadian exports.
Carney, who also ran Canada’s central bank before moving to London in 2013, said he would make the country’s economy the strongest in the G7, acknowledging growth had been too slow, wages were too low and groceries too expensive under Trudeau, a fellow Liberal.
“I’m going to be incredibly focused on getting our economy back on track,” Carney said in the western Canadian province. “I’m here to ask for your support, I’m here to lead that fight.”
The Liberal contender, who has more recently been an executive at alternative asset manager Brookfield, tried to depict himself as an outsider, in contrast with Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative leader and career-long politician who has opened up a huge lead in national polls.
“I’m not the usual suspect when it comes to politics but this is no time for politics as usual,” Carney said.
Carney’s announcement ends months of speculation over whether the former central banker would try to replace Trudeau, who announced he was stepping down as Liberal leader on January 6 after months of party infighting and plummeting poll numbers.
Chrystia Freeland, whose resignation as Trudeau’s finance minister last month triggered the Liberal leadership crisis, is expected to announce her own candidacy. “I’ll have more to say soon,” she posted on X on Thursday. A person close to Freeland said she could launch her campaign in Toronto on Sunday.
Canada’s parliamentary system means that, as in the UK, the leader of the House of Commons’ largest party has the right to form a government and become prime minister.
If Carney wins the Liberal leadership vote on March 9, he would become Canada’s next prime minister despite not being an elected official — unlike Freeland and Trudeau, he is not a Canadian MP. He would then lead the party into federal elections that must be held on or before 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 US-Canada tensions ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Monday. The president-elect has repeatedly baited Trudeau in recent weeks, describing Canada as the US’s “51st state” and Trudeau as its “governor”.
Carney resigned as chair of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management, an asset manager with close to $1tn under management. He led the Canadian central bank from 2008 to 2013 and of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020.
“We are sorry to see him leave, but he does so to fulfil his deep sense of public service to Canada and we wish him all the best in his new pursuit,” Brookfield chief executive Bruce Flatt said in a statement on Thursday.
Carney is also chair of the board of Bloomberg and UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance. Carney has remained a top adviser to Trudeau’s government.
Poilievre has attacked the former central banker for supporting Trudeau’s efforts to crack down on 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 was raised.
“Carbon Tax Carney supported hiking the NDP-Liberal tax on gas, heat & groceries, QUADRUPLING it all the way up to $0.61/L. Just. Like. Justin,” Poilievre posted on X on Thursday.
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