A Profile on Canada’s New Prime Minister: Mark Carney

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While Justin Trudeau and his family have been in the spotlight for decades, many Canadians, myself included, have been unfamiliar with the figure Mark Carney until recently. So who is the new leader of our country? What are his aims, and what is his previous political experience? This article will detail Carney’s viewpoints and outline his goals for Canada.

Who is Mark Carney? 

Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s prime minister on Friday, March 14th, and can be expected to be plunged headfirst into economic crises and a trade war initiated by US president Donald Trump as an introduction to office. Carney is most renowned for his work as the former Bank of England boss, the first ever non-British person to be appointed as governor of the Bank of England in 2013 over the entirety of its 300 year past, working in this role until 2020. Prior to this, Carney had navigated his home country Canada through the Great Recession as the governor of the Bank of Canada from 2007 – 2013. The major differentiation that can be made between Carney and other Prime Minister hopeful candidates is the fact that he has never held political office. However, despite this he was able to win the race to replace previous Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. This role is not solidified, as Canada’s next federal election is formally planned for October 2025, however it is likely to be pushed forward now that Carney has been formally sworn into office. 

Early Life and Childhood

Image Courtesy of @markjcarney on Instagram

Carney was born on March 16th, 1965, in the secluded northern town of Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories, and travelled widely for work commitments to locations including New York, London, and Tokyo. Carney was born to high-school principal Robert James Martin Carney, and Verlie Margaret, and grew up in Edmonton. He attended St. Francis Xavier high school, and was a passionate ice hockey player. Three out of four of Carney’s grandparents were born/ reside in County Mayo in Ireland, allowing Carney to hold citizenship for both Ireland and Canada. While he received British citizenship in 2018, he has recently stated his intent to renounce his Irish and British citizenship, as he believes the prime minister should solely hold Canadian citizenship. 

Carney is an exceptionally intelligent individual. He attended Harvard University on an athletic scholarship for ice hockey and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1988. In 1995, Carney received a PhD in economics from Oxford University in England regarding the subject of whether domestic competition allows an economy to become more nationally competitive. This topic in specific is highly applicable to the American tariffs threatening Canada as our country works to make internal trade easier.  

Work History and Experience

In 2003, Mark Carney joined the Bank of Canada as a deputy governor, and later worked for the Department of Finance as senior associate deputy minister. In 2007, Carney became the governor of the Bank of Canada. This promotion was quickly followed by the collapse of global markets and the great recession in 2008. Carney’s strong leadership is commended during this period as he successfully directed Canada away from the worst of the financial crisis. 

During his time as governor for the Bank of England, Carney was notably open about his aims to keep interest rates low for a year, after drastically reducing them. This allowed businesses at the time to continue investing even when markets declined. Carney is also praised for modernizing the Bank as he frequently made public appearances and statements with the media, which was previously rare for Bank officials. Carney introduced a policy of “forward guidance”, aimed at supporting the economy and decreasing unemployment rates to below 7%, not raising interest rates before this goal was met.

Carney and Trump

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Carney’s long period of work experience at the Bank allowed him to have previously become familiar with Donald Trump. Apart from inflicting harsh tariffs on Canada since his return as President in January, he has frequently expressed a wish for America to annex Canada, creating a “fifty-first state”. Mark Carney was a member and chair of the Financial Stability Board from 2011 – 2018, which allowed him to work on global responses towards the policies of Trump’s first presidency from 2017 – 2021. While during this time, Carney remained unspoken regarding Trump, he has recently publicly stated opinions on the US President, even likening him to the villain in the Harry Potter books named Voldemort after Trump’s comments about Canada becoming the 51st state: “When you think about what’s at sake in these ridiculous, insulting comments of the president, of what we could be, I view this as the sort of Voldemort of comments,” Carney stated. 

Furthermore, Carney appears dedicated to the trade war between Canada and the United States, reporting that he will continue to impose counter-tariffs “until the Americans show us respect… and [make] credible and reliable commitments to free and fair trade”.

Carney’s Political Journey

Image Courtesy of Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party had scouted Carney for a decade, however the 59-year-old consistently dismissed this idea. However, following Trudeau’s announcement of resignation in January, following his finance minister Chrystia Freeland quitting his cabinet. This created a party disagreement that, combined with Trudeau’s drastically declining poll numbers, guided the former prime minister to resignation. Carney has prided himself on his quick problem solving skills, stating “I know how to manage crises. In a situation like this, you need experience in terms of crisis management, you need negotiating skills.” during a leadership debate in late February. Carney is also seen to be a strong speaker, allowing individual viewers to feel supported and significant while succinctly delivering his points.

However, Carney has also been a subject of criticism from political opposition in Canada. The Conservative Party accused Carney of lying regarding his role in moving investment firm Brookfield Asset Management’s head office from Toronto to New York, which Canry has now recently stated was decided after he quit the board. In the coming federal election, Carney will face off against Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative leader who has managed to gain his party a strong lead in public opinion polls and raise almost twice the amount of fundraising dollars as the Liberals in 2024. Poilievre’s main attack and message has been to concentrate on how the Liberal Party had “broken” Canada through increased crime, rising housing prices, and huge numbers of immigrants. However, following the resignation of the highly unpopular Justin Trudeau and Trump’s negative attitude towards Canada, the Conservative lead has significantly diminished as seen by several recent opinion polls. 

Stance on Issues 

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Carney has advocated for and proposed several policies to address issues within Canada, as well as standing up against Donald Trump. Carney is widely known as an advocate for environmental sustainability. In 2019, Carney was appointed as a UN special envoy for climate change, and in 2021 he introduced the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, which is an organization of banks and financial institutions collaborating to create solutions for reducing climate change. Quickly after becoming prime minister, Carney signed an order-in-council to eliminate the carbon tax on Canadians based on emissions starting from April 1st, which the Conservatives had previously used as a competitive edge. Carney stated: “This will make a difference to hard-pressed Canadians.” 

Regarding immigration, Carney has supported a cap on current immigration targets, helping reduce the strain on Canada’s crowded housing and healthcare systems. Carney’s primary target is to continue to grow Canada’s economy, regardless of the slowed trade with the US. 

Image Courtesy of @markjcarney on Instagram

So far, Carney’s ideology and policy is being well-received by Canadians. A recent poll that was conducted prior to Carney being sworn in as prime minister showed that Canadians believe Carney will be better able to deal with Trump’s policies and relationship with Canada than Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. This indicates a higher chance of victory for the Liberals, and represents the strong introduction of Carney to the Canadian public.