Mark Carney succeeds Justin Trudeau as Liberals leader, vows to stand up to Trump

Mark Carney will become Canada’s next prime minister after Canada’s ruling Liberal Party elected him as its leader on Sunday to replace Justin Trudeau.

Trudeau had resigned as prime minister on 6 January as domestic problems mounted, plummeting his popularity in the country. He had vowed to stay in power until his party elects a new leader to replace him.

The Canadian leader had come under pressure from his own party who lost their trust in him, resulting in dismal polls. In the months leading up to Trudeau’s resignation, polls projected his main rival, Pierre Poilievre of the Conservative Party leading by a significant double-digit margin.

Carney won the Liberal Party leadership vote in a landslide, securing almost 86% of the vote, and in his first speech as leader, was quick to take a defiant stance against threats from US President Donald Trump.

“There is someone who is trying to weaken our economy,” Carney warned. “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 its 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,” added Carney. “They [the US] should make no mistake, in trade, as in hockey, Canada will win.”

Carney’s previous roles saw him navigate financial crises when he was the head of the Bank of Canada. In 2013, he was appointed as governor of the Bank of England, under then British Prime Minister Borish Johnson, becoming the first noncitizen to run the English central bank since its founding in 1694.

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