BBC News : Mark Carney has won the race to succeed Justin Trudeau as Canada’s next prime minister, vowing to win the trade war against US President Donald Trump as he takes charge of the country at a time of deep instability.
The former governor of the Canadian and UK central banks beat three rivals in the Liberal Party’s leadership contest in a landslide.
In much of his victory speech, Carney, 59, attacked Trump, who has imposed tariffs on Canada and said he wants to make the country the 51st US state. “Americans should make no mistake,” he said. “In trade, as in hockey, Canada will win.”
Carney is expected to be sworn in as PM in the coming days and will lead the Liberals in the next general election, which is expected to be called in the coming weeks.
Carney, now prime minister-designate, has never served in elected office.
The Liberal leadership race began in January after Trudeau resigned following nearly a decade in office. He had faced internal pressure to quit over deep unpopularity with voters, who were frustrated with a housing crisis and the rising cost of living.
Carney won on the first ballot on Sunday evening, taking 85.9% of the vote to beat his nearest rival, former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Loud cheers erupted as the results were announced to a crowd of some 1,600 party faithful in Ottawa, Canada’s capital.
Carney, who will lead a minority government in parliament, could either call a snap general election himself or opposition parties could force one with a no-confidence vote later this month.
The governing Liberals have seen a remarkable political turnaround since Trudeau’s exit, as Canadians have been galvanised by Donald Trump’s trade threats and support for annexing their country
At the beginning of the year, they trailed the Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, by more than 20 points in election polls.
They have since narrowed the gap and some polls show them statistically tied with Poilievre’s party.
Much of Carney’s speech focused on what he called Trump’s “unjustified tariffs” on Canada, America’s largest trading partner.
The US imposed levies of 25% on Canadian goods last Tuesday, but rowed back within days to exempt goods compliant with an existing trade agreement.
Canada responded with retaliatory tariffs of its own as Trudeau accused his US counterpart of trying to collapse the country’s economy.
Carney echoed that in his victory speech, saying Trump was “attacking Canadian workers, families, and businesses”.
“We can’t let him succeed,” he added, as the crowd booed loudly.
He said his government would keep tariffs on US imports “until the Americans show us respect”.
Canada’s economy depends significantly on trade with the US and risks tipping into recession if the sweeping tariffs threatened by Trump are fully imposed.
“I know these are dark days,” Carney said. “Dark days brought on by a country we can no longer trust.
“We’re 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.”
