Liberals Choose next leader, Canada has its new Prime Minister

Mark Carney Wins Liberal Leadership

Today, the Liberal Party of Canada, the current governing party in Ottawa, has selected former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney as its new Leader, following Justin Trudeau's announced resignation in January of this year. Carney was elected Leader of the Party in the first round, securing 85.9% of the vote. In the coming days, Carney will be sworn in as Prime Minister of Canada before Parliament returns on March 24th.

About Mark Carney

Carney was born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. He completed his post-secondary education abroad, receiving a Bachelor of Economics from Harvard University, a master’s degree, and a PhD in Economics from the University of Oxford.  

Carney began his professional career in finance at Goldman Sachs before serving as the Deputy Governor at the Bank of Canada and, later, the Senior Associate Deputy Minister at Finance Canada. Following this, Carney was appointed the Governor of the Bank of Canada, a role he held for 6 years between 2007 and 2013, including during the 2008 financial crisis. He then became the Governor of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020, where he guided the UK’s economy through Brexit, and later served as the Finance Advisor to the British Prime Minister from 2020 until 2025.  

Carney previously served as an advisory board chair to the progressive liberal think tank Canada 2020 and was named the United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Change in 2019. Since 2020, he’s been chair of investment firm Brookfield Asset Management. He was also an external member of the board of Stripe, the payment-processing financial tech company, and sat on the World Economic Forum's foundation board.

What's Next?

While Carney has won the Liberal Party Leadership, he will have much to contend with once he is sworn in as Prime Minister, particularly Canada-U.S. trade relations amid President Trump’s imposed tariffs and the future prospects of a Liberal government with an election looming.  

President Trump has kept Canada under the uncertainty of his tariff threats since February, with a broad 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods and a 10 percent tariff on Canadian energy. While he attempted to impose these tariffs on March 4th, before lifting the tariff for CUSMA-compliant goods, he continues to keep Canada unclear as to which threat of tariffs will remain in effect, and which will be swiftly walked back. As such, this will be one of the first issues that Carney will need to address is how to ensure Canada can withstand the growing trade war with what is our closest trading partner.  

Once sworn in as Prime Minister, Carney will need to determine the proper steps to addressing existing and threatened tariffs, including deciding who is best to work on relations with the United States, advocating for the removal of tariffs with President Trump, and building on Trudeau’s announced retaliatory tariffs and relief measures for Canadian workers and businesses. These responses will be increasingly important as President Trump has stated he plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, threatened additional tariffs on Canadian dairy and lumber, and promised further tariffs on Canadian goods on April 2nd.

Despite the focus on a trade war with the United States, Carney will also need to focus on issues that have been plaguing the Liberal Party for the past year: affordability and housing. Canadians are looking to see which party leader will come out with a plan to increase housing supply while also lowering costs for home buyers, as well as addressing the ever-rising cost of living. While the Liberal government under Justin Trudeau introduced measures to address these issues, Canadians have been increasingly unsatisfied, particularly as a federal election loomed nearer. This will mean Carney will need to assure voters of his plan to address affordability issues when an election is called.  

Following Carney’s swearing-in as Prime Minister, Canadians will be looking to see when the newly appointed Leader will call for a federal election. The political landscape in Canada and Canada’s relationship with the United States has created some uncertainty of when an election is called, particularly with CPC Leader Pierre Poilievre gearing up for an election, and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh stating he will support the Liberals in Parliament to introduce measures to support workers and businesses, it is still possible an election will come before Parliament’s return on March 24th. This is even more likely considering that Carney does not currently hold a seat in the House of Commons.  

With Liberal polling numbers indicating that they are closing the gap in voter intention, the Conservatives have enjoyed for quite some time, a federal election will see Carney tested as he takes on Conservative Party Leader, Pierre Poilievre. As such, Carney will need to demonstrate he is the most poised to deal with the issues concerning Canadians, prior to and during a federal election, especially that he is the best positioned to take on President Trump and the continued threat of tariffs.

Read the full details of Carney's policies here