Carney poised to enter race to replace Trudeau as Canada's prime minister
Former central banker Mark Carney is poised to announce that he’s jumping into the race to succeed Justin Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party and Canadian prime minister.
Carney is preparing an announcement for late this week now that the party has set out the rules of the contest, according to a person familiar with his plans, speaking on condition they not be identified.
The former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England will likely be up against former finance minister Chrystia Freeland and ex-British Columbia premier Christy Clark, both of whom are contemplating a run.
Carney said publicly last Monday that he was thinking about joining the race after Trudeau announced he was stepping down. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. was the first to report Friday that Carney has now made the decision to do it, and he expects to have the support of more than 30 of the 153 elected Liberal members of the House of Commons.
The governing Liberals are planning an expedited leadership vote to conclude March 9, before Parliament reconvenes on March 24. The leaders of three major opposition parties have indicated they intend to back a vote of no-confidence almost immediately, which would bring the government down and start an election.
Whoever ends up leading Canada will face Donald Trump as he threatens 25 per cent tariffs and “economic force” against the United States’ northern neighbour, its partner for some US$2.7 billion per day in trade.
The economic magnitude of Trump’s promised tariffs looms large over the leadership contest.
The need for “keeping fiscal powder dry” for “a coming tariff war” was cited in Freeland’s resignation letter, which criticized Trudeau and accelerated his downfall — while the pressing
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