The Guardian :
Mark Carney, the former central banker who oversaw the response to financial crises in North America and the UK, will become the next prime minister of Canada after winning the race to lead the country’s federal Liberal party.
Carney, 59, takes on the role as Canada is locked in a potentially catastrophic trade war with the US, long its closest ally and largest trading partner.
The Trump administration’s tariffs process have push Canada’s fragile economy in a recession.
“America is not Canada. And Canada never, ever, will be part of America in any way, shape or form,” Carney told supporters, laying bare the existential crisis that has outraged Canadians, riven the longstanding relationship with the US, and promises to be the overarching theme in his tenure as prime minister.
“We didn’t ask for this fight. But Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves,” Carney said. “So the Americans, they should make no mistake, in trade as in hockey, Canada will win.”
Before the announcement, the outgoing prime minister, Justin Trudeau, electrified the crowd by telling Liberals he was “damn proud” of his government’s legacy.
But he warned of dangerous time for the country. “This is a nation-defining moment. Democracy is not a given. Freedom is not a given. Even Canada is not a given,” he told supporters.
He also drew on the “elbows up” rallying cry to intense applause – a phrase from ice hockey legend Gordie Howe popularised in recent weeks after threats from Trump to annex Canada.
It is unclear when Carney, who was governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and governor of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020, will assume office. Trudeau and the new Liberal leader are expected to hold conversations in the coming days to determine the outgoing prime minister’s final day in office.
He will also be the first Liberal prime minister from western Canada, a valuable identity in a country that is politically divided along geographical lines.
Carney spent much of his campaign pitching himself as an outsider, despite years-long ties to the Liberal party, including serving as an economic adviser to Trudeau, the outgoing prime minister.
Meanwhile in recent weeks, several fumbles have underlined the challenges in moving from the corporate world to politics.
He has promised to put his substantial assets, believed to be valued at more than C$30m (£16m), into a blind trust immediately.
