Mark Carney to lead Canada Trudeau's successor is already showing a clear edge against Trump
The new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada is Mark Carney. He will succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and will probably announce new elections quickly. He is already showing a clear edge against Donald Trump.
10.03.2025, 05:00
12.03.2025, 11:33
dpa
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- Former central bank chief Mark Carney is to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Canada's leader.
- Carney is due to be sworn in as Prime Minister in the next few days. He is expected to call new elections in a few weeks, which must then take place by October at the latest.
Former central bank governor Mark Carney is to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and lead Canada through turbulent economic times and probable new elections. The 59-year-old economist won the election for leader of the Liberal Party by a surprisingly clear margin over his rivals. With the leadership of the center-left party, the former head of the British and Canadian central banks will also take over the office of Prime Minister - and in this role will have to deal with the aggressive tariff policy and annexation threats of US President Donald Trump.
Carney received 85.9 percent of the 150,000 votes cast in the internal party vote. His most promising rival, former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, came a distant second with 8 percent.
Carney is due to be sworn in as Prime Minister in the next few days. He is expected to call new elections in a few weeks, which must then take place by October at the latest. It remains to be seen whether his party can continue to provide the prime minister in the future or will have to leave the reins of government to the Conservatives.
The withdrawal of his predecessor Justin Trudeau caused Carney's party to rise in the electorate's favor.
Image: dpa
The withdrawal of his predecessor Justin Trudeau caused Carney's party to rise in the electorate's favor.
Image: dpa
Clear words against Donald Trump
In his victory speech, Carney continued the rhetoric of his predecessor Trudeau and sent a clear message to Trump, who had threatened to make Canada the "51st US state". "Canada will never become part of America in any form," Carney emphasized. Although the nation is experiencing "dark days, triggered by a country that we can no longer trust", the challenge will be overcome. "In trade as in ice hockey: Canada will win!" said Carney to cheers from party members.
Since the change of power in Washington, there have been strong political and economic tensions with Trump's government, which is putting Canada under massive pressure. Although Canada is the second largest country in the world, the somewhat smaller USA has almost nine times as many inhabitants and 13 times the economic output. During the party's election campaign, Carney called for closer cooperation with Europe and Asia in order to reduce trade dependency on the USA.
In recent days, the US introduced high tariffs on Canadian goods, which Canada responded to with counter-tariffs before Trump suspended the punitive levies he had ordered for the time being. The economic ties between the two neighbors are enormous: last year, the US imported the equivalent of 380 billion euros worth of goods from Canada, while imports in the opposite direction amounted to around 322 billion euros.
In terms of domestic policy, Carney is promising a fundamental reform of the economy with tax relief for the middle class and the reduction of bureaucratic hurdles as well as greater support for innovation and investment.
Liberals experience unexpected upswing
Trudeau's withdrawal and the open dispute with the new US government gave the Liberals an unexpected boost in voter favor. Just a few months ago, they had trailed the Conservatives by 20 percentage points in some polls. But the gap continued to narrow. At the beginning of March, the first surveys showed the Liberals just ahead.
Bank manager with crisis experience
Carney is regarded as crisis-tested thanks to his wealth of national and international experience. During the financial crisis, the dog lover who grew up in the province of Alberta in the west of the country headed Canada's central bank from 2008. The fact that Canada survived the consequences of the global financial and economic crisis comparatively well is also attributed to him. Between 2013 and 2020, Carney was head of the UK's central bank during the turbulent Brexit phase, before serving as UN Special Envoy for Climate Action until January of this year.
