Mark Carney to replace Trudeau as Canada’s prime minister

His victory speech took direct aim at U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent trade threats, pledging to maintain retaliatory tariffs ‘until the Americans show us respect.’

By Jewish Breaking News

The Liberal Party of Canada has turned to Mark Carney to replace Justin Trudeau as the country’s prime minister.

Carney won on the first ballot on Sunday evening, taking a stunning 85.9% of the vote to beat his nearest rival, former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, in a four-person race.

Unlike typical Liberal leadership candidates, the 59-year-old enters politics directly at the top, having never held elected office.

With Canada facing mounting economic challenges and deteriorating relations with its southern neighbor, Carney brings an impressive financial resume to the table.

The former Goldman Sachs investment banker served as governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 before becoming the first foreigner to head the Bank of England, where he guided Britain’s economy through the turbulent Brexit period. Since 2019, he’s worked as UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance.

His victory speech took direct aim at U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent trade threats, pledging to maintain retaliatory tariffs “until the Americans show us respect.”

“There’s someone who’s trying to weaken our economy,” Carney declared to a throng of enthusiastic supporters at party headquarters in Ottawa.

“We can control our economic destiny with a plan that puts more money in your pockets, a plan that will ensure your government spends less so Canada can invest more. Because in Canada, we are stronger when we are united.”

Carney also drew a sharp contrast between himself and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, claiming his opponent’s approach would leave Canada “divided and ready to be conquered.”

“Pierre Poilievre would let our planet burn. This is not leadership. It’s ideology. It’s ideology that betrays what we as Canadians value: each other. It’s an ideology that also represents a fundamental misunderstanding of how the economy works,” he said.

“Unlike Pierre Poilievre, I’ve actually worked in the private sector, I know how the world works, and I know how it can be made to work better for all of us.”

Carney’s position on Israel represents a notable shift from Trudeau’s increasingly critical stance.

While the outgoing prime minister publicly criticized Israel’s defensive operations in Gaza, supported UN resolutions against settlements in Judea and Samaria, and pledged to enforce the ICC’s arrest warrant on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Carney has charted a more moderate course in supporting Israel’s right to self-defense while simultaneously advocating for a two-state solution.

The new Liberal leader now faces the daunting task of reversing his party’s polling deficit before a federal election that must occur by October.

According to The Globe and Mail, Carney will likely call a snap election sometime before Parliament resumes session in late March. Conservatives under Poilievre maintain a significant lead, though recent polls suggest the gap has narrowed as Liberals have been taking stronger positions on the U.S. trade dispute.