FORMER Bank of England governor Mark Carney will become Canada’s next prime minister after the Liberal Party elected him as its leader.
Carney, 59, replaces Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced his resignation in January but remains in post until his successor is sworn in.
Carney navigated crises when he was the head of the Bank of Canada and in 2013 he became the first non-UK citizen to run the Bank of England since it was founded in 1694.
His appointment won bipartisan praise in the UK after Canada recovered from the 2008 financial crisis faster than many other countries.
The opposition Conservatives hoped to make the upcoming general election about Trudeau, whose popularity declined as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged.
Donald Trump’s trade war and his talk of making Canada the 51st US state have infuriated Canadians, who are booing the American anthem at sporting fixtures.
Some are cancelling trips south of the border and many are avoiding buying American goods when they can.
“There is someone who is trying to weaken our economy,” Carney said.
“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 retaliatory tariffs in place until “the Americans show us respect”.
The surge in Canadian nationalism has bolstered the Liberal Party’s chances in the parliamentary election expected within days or weeks.
“We have made this the greatest country in the world and now our neighbours want to take us. No way,” Carney said.
Carney picked up one endorsement after another from Cabinet ministers and MPs after declaring his candidacy in January.
He is a highly educated economist with Wall Street experience who has long been interested in entering politics and becoming prime minister, but he lacks political experience.
The other top Liberal leadership candidate was former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland.
Trudeau told Freeland in December that he no longer wanted her as finance minister, but that she could remain deputy prime minister and the point person for US-Canada relations.
Freeland resigned shortly after, releasing a scathing letter about the government that proved to be the last straw for Mr Trudeau.
Carney is expected to trigger an election soon or the opposition parties in Parliament could force one with a no-confidence vote later this month.
