Canada’s Liberal Party has elected Mark Carney as its leader. He is set to replace Justin Trudeau as the Prime Minister of Canada. Carney secured a win in the first ballot in a race that took place after Justin Trudeau had announced to step down in early January after a mounting caucus revolt and the resignation of Chrystia Freeland from the cabinet.
After maintaining his position as the frontrunner in the leadership race for the past two months, Carney, the former Governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, is set to become Canada’s next Prime Minister in the coming days.
Notably, Carney defeated former cabinet minister Karina Gould, former finance minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, and Businessman and former Liberal MP Frank Baylis.
As many as 151,899 party loyalists cast a ballot in this race, and the majority decided depending on a ranked-ballot system that saw each riding receive equal weighting. They elected Carney to succeed as next Canada PM. He will also carry the party’s banner in the likely imminent federal election, which polls suggest to be an increasingly narrowing race with the Conservatives.
Who Is Mark Carney?
Born on March 16, 1965, Mark Joseph Carney is a Canadian economist and politician. He was born in Fort Smith of Northwest Territories, and raised in Edmonton of Alberta. He is a Harvard University graduate and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics. Carney was appointed Governor of the Bank of Canada in October 2007. He worked as an adviser to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the COVID-19 pandemic. Carney was also made chair of the Liberal Party’s economic growth taskforce.
His wife is Diana Fox, a British economist who he met at Oxford. The couple has four children. Carney has never held elected office and is not a Member of Parliament.
It is not yet known in which riding Carney will run. However, he has announced that he will campaign for a seat in the House of Commons in the next election.
