Former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor Mark Carney speaks after he won the race to become leader of Canada's ruling Liberal Party and will succeed Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, March 9, 2025. [Photo/Agencies]
The governing Liberal Party elected former central banker Mark Carney its leader on Sunday. Carney will thus succeed Justin Trudeau as prime minister after he is sworn in in the coming days, at a critical juncture as Canada addresses the challenge of US President Donald Trump's trade war.
Despite having little political experience — he has never been elected as a member of parliament — Carney's long track record as governor of the Bank of Canada during the global financial crisis and governor of the Bank of England during the Brexit negotiations is believed to be the main reason for his election victory.
But the test awaiting the future Canadian leader this time is very different from that of the difficult times he once led the central banks through, as it does not originate from the imbalance of financial or economic laws, but the rise of unilateralism, protectionism and hegemony based on a surge of populism in the US. So to pass the test entails the former central banker demonstrating not only financial acumen but more importantly political wisdom, vision and courage.
Unlike his predecessor, who has appeared "weak" in front of the US' assertiveness, Carney, as predicted, talked tough on the US when addressing a crowd of Liberal supporters after the result of the leadership contest was announced on Sunday evening. "We didn't ask for this fight, but Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves," he said.
But although he promised to face down Trump's threats to impose tariffs and annex Canada, saying, "America is not Canada, and Canada never, ever will be part of America in any way", how Carney will translate his strong language on the stage in Ottawa into practical solutions to those twin challenges is far less clear.
That Trudeau's 50-minute telephone call with Trump on Wednesday was reported as being "profanity-laden" clearly indicates that the US leader is determined to press ahead with the pressure he is putting on Canada. Further evidence of that is the new tariffs Trump threatened to impose on Friday on Canadian lumber and dairy products, one day after offering Canada a one-month reprieve on punishing, virtually across-the-board 25 percent tariffs.
As well as Trump's trade pressure, Carney has a host of domestic political, economic and social problems to tackle. The fast rising living costs and ballooning national debt over the past nine years under the Liberal Party have undermined public confidence in his party's leadership and he will have to deal with the challenge from the opposition parties led by the Conservative Party under the stewardship of the populist leader Pierre Poilievre in parliament.
The opposition parties will be alert to how Carney will deal with the US trade blows, further squeezing the space for his maneuvers as the US leader heightens his threats.
As such, the future Canadian leader has no reason not to overhaul the Trudeau government's China policy to mend the ties with the world's second-largest economy and Canada's major trading partner. The retaliatory tariffs Beijing vowed on the weekend to impose on some Canadian imports later this month to counter the punitive duties Trudeau slapped on some Chinese imports in October under pressure from the US should be taken as a reminder to Carney of a move he can take that has the potential to save the whole situation on his gameboard.
China remains open to working with Canada to enhance understanding and handle their differences properly and to promote a partnership based on mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. The two economies are highly complementary in resources and economic structures, and they enjoy broad cooperation prospects, and will continue to do so, if Canada does not allow itself to be manipulated by the US.
