Mark Carney has won the leadership of Canada’s Liberal Party after a months-long, high-stakes race to replace Justin Trudeau.
He is set to lead the party into the next federal elections, scheduled to take place before October. 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.
Trump’s Tensions with Canada
US President, Donald Trump has repeatedly blamed Canada for illegal immigration into the US. He threatened to turn Canada into a 51st state, and imposed steep tariffs on Canadian imports.
Carney Responds to US-Canada Trade Tensions
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. We cannot let him succeed and we won’t.”
“In trade as in hockey, Canada will win,” he added.
Impact on Canadian Society
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 challenge Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, whom observers have previously compared to Trump. He now seeks to distance himself from the US leader, reiterating at a press conference that he is “not MAGA.”
At a rally on Sunday ahead of the Liberal vote, Poilievre delivered scathing remarks about Carney, 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 wants to weaken us by dividing and conquering. Pierre Poilievre’s plan will divide us and make us easy to conquer,” Carney said.
In his final remarks as Liberal Party leader, Trudeau warned on Sunday that the U.S. poses an “existential challenge” to Canadians.
“This is a nation-defining moment,” he told the Liberal leadership convention in Ottawa, shortly before Carney became his successor.
“And now, as our neighbor threatens us with an existential challenge and an economic crisis, Canadians are proving exactly what we are made of,” Trudeau said.
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