Monday, March 10, 2025 - Mark Carney has been elected leader of Canada’s Liberal Party in a months-long, high stakes race to replace Justin Trudeau.
He will now be expected to lead the party into the next federal
elections which must be held before October, where he is likely to face stiff
competition from the Conservative party, which is currently leading in the
polls.
While Carney will take over immediately as Liberal Party leader, Trudeau
will remain as Canada’s prime minister for an undisclosed transitional period
while his successor settles in.
US President, Donald Trump has repeatedly blamed Canada for illegal
immigration into the US, threatened to turn Canada into a 51st state, and
imposed steep tariffs on Canadian imports, which the White House says is
necessary to stem the flow of fentanyl over its borders.
In his first remarks following the result of the vote, Carney referenced
the tensions with the US, saying his government would “create new trading
relationships with reliable trading partners.”
He also vowed to keep retaliatory tariffs on the US “until the Americans
show us respect.”
“New threats demand new ideas and a new plan,” he told the Liberal Party
convention on Sunday.
“Canada will never be part of the US “
Slamming the Trump administration’s tariff plans, Carney said of the US
president, “He’s attacking Canadian families, workers, and businesses and we
cannot let him succeed and we won’t.”
“In trade as in hockey, Canada will win,” he added.
The ripple effects of the tense relations with the US have spread
through Canadian society, with fans at NHL and NBA games in Canada even booing
the US national anthem.
Carney will now face off with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who
has previously been compared to Trump but now seeks to distance himself from
the US leader, reiterating at a press conference earlier this week that he is
“not MAGA.”
At a rally on Sunday ahead of the Liberal vote, Poilievre delivered
scathing remarks about Carney, a former governor of both the Bank of England
and Bank of Canada, portraying him as a leader ill-equipped to deal with Trump.
“Working for Trudeau, Carney made Canada weaker and poorer; working for
himself Carney made the United States richer and stronger,” Poilievre said.
In his remarks following the results of the vote, Carney shot back at
his conservative opponent.
“Donald Trump thinks he can weaken us with his plan to divide and
conquer. Pierre Poilievre’s plan will leave us divided and ready to be
conquered,” Carney said.
In some of his last remarks as Liberal Party leader, Trudeau warned
Sunday that Canadians face an “existential challenge” from the US.
“This is a nation-defining moment,” he told the Liberal leadership
convention in Ottawa, ahead of Carney being announced as his successor.
“And now, as Canadians face from our neighbor an existential challenge,
an economic crisis, Canadians are showing exactly what we are made of,” Trudeau
said.
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