Carney Starts Bid to Lead Canada in His Hometown as Attacks Ramp Up

Former central banker Mark Carney is due to formally kick off his bid to replace Justin Trudeau as the head of Canada’s Liberal Party and the country’s prime minister on Thursday, with the leader of the opposition already attacking his record.

Author of the article:

Bloomberg News

Thomas Seal

Published Jan 16, 2025  •  2 minute read

Mark Carney speaks during a panel session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland last year. Photo by Stefan Wermuth /Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/Blo

(Bloomberg) — Former central banker Mark Carney is due to formally kick off his bid to replace Justin Trudeau as the head of Canada’s Liberal Party and the country’s prime minister on Thursday, with the leader of the opposition already attacking his record. 

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Liberal members of Parliament and other supporters will attend an afternoon event planned at a community center in Carney’s childhood neighborhood in west Edmonton, the capital of the oil-rich, conservative province of Alberta. 

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George Chahal, a Liberal lawmaker from Calgary who plans to attend, said in a phone interview that Carney’s strong understanding of the economy “gives him the credentials and the experience to tackle the issues that Canadians are facing today, and the ones that are being proposed by President Trump on tariffs.”

Before a globe-trotting career in finance, Carney grew up in Edmonton, where his family had moved from the remote Northwest Territories. He is now chair of Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. and Bloomberg Inc., among other roles. Carney’s father unsuccessfully ran for the Liberals in Edmonton in 1980. 

The leadership contest that started with Trudeau’s resignation on Jan. 6 comes as US President-elect Donald Trump threatens aggressive tariffs against Canada. The Liberals are far behind the Conservative Party in polls, partly because of economic concerns. A period of high inflation, elevated interest rates and shrinking gross domestic product per capita has left many Canadians feeling poorer.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has started attacking Carney as a supporter of a controversial carbon tax that Trudeau’s government brought in. Poilievre also has tried to tie Carney to the unpopular current prime minister, to whom the ex-banker has given advice on economic issues.

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Poilievre posted a video Thursday morning calling Carney the “ultimate Liberal insider,” with clips showing Trudeau and his former deputy, Chrystia Freeland, describing their close links to Carney, and Carney supporting Trudeau. 

About two hours later, two Conservative MPs wrote to Brookfield Chief Executive Officer Bruce Flatt, asking him to disclose Carney’s compensation.

In a late night talk show appearance this week, Carney, 59, implied he would do things differently than Trudeau. He criticized the government’s lack of focus on some of the bigger challenges facing the country, and suggested he’d try to lighten the financial burden of climate measures on Canadian consumers.

He promoted his experience in economics and dealing with crises — alluding to his time as Bank of Canada governor during the global financial crisis and as Bank of England governor during Brexit.

In a leadership contest due to conclude March 9, Carney will be up against Freeland and other candidates. The winner will become prime minister but may face a confidence vote soon after Parliament returns on March 24, which would trigger a national election. The new leader could also choose to call the election before that happens.

Liberal lawmakers have started publicly lining up behind Carney or Freeland, who also hails from Alberta and appears to be his main competitor for the job.

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