Former banker set to be Canada’s next prime minister

Canada’s ruling Liberal Party on Sunday elected former banker Mark Carney to lead the party and replace outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Carney secured about 86% of the party vote, beating former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, House Representative Karina Gould, and businessman Frank Baylis. Carney takes office amid a tense trade war with its southern neighbor during which U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to highly tax goods imported from Canada. In his acceptance speech, Carney vowed to win the tariff war. He also promised that Canada would never be part of the United States. alluding to Trump’s statements about making Canada the 51st state.

Carney does not currently hold a seat in parliament. He is expected to call for federal elections after he is sworn in. He would then face Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre in the race for prime minister. Carney has never held elected office but in 2020 he began serving as the UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance.

Who is Carney? The bank executive grew up in Edmonton, Alberta and completed a bachelor’s degree in economics at Harvard University, plus master’s and doctorate degrees in economics at Oxford University. He worked for Goldman Sachs for over a decade before joining the Bank of Canada which he led through the Great Recession in 2008, according to his campaign website. He later served as governor of the Bank of England and managed the institution through Brexit.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s report about the Canadian election debate last month.