Amid rising tensions between the United States and Canada, a new Prime Minister has been announced for Canada’s ruling Liberal Party.
Former central banker Mark Carney has won the race to lead the Liberal Party, succeeding Justin Trudeau as prime minister, official results showed on Sunday.
Carney, 59, secured 86% of the votes, defeating former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland in a contest that saw nearly 152,000 party members participate, Reuters reports.
Trudeau had announced in January that he would step down following a sharp decline in his approval ratings. His decision came after more than nine years in power.
In response, the Liberal Party launched a swift leadership contest to replace him.
Carney takes office at a tumultuous time, as Canada faces a trade war with its longtime ally, the United States, under President Donald Trump. The country is also preparing for an upcoming general election.
In his victory speech, Carney warned that the United States under President Trump was seeking to seize control of Canada.
“There’s someone who’s trying to weaken our economy,” Carney said of Trump, drawing loud boos from the crowd at the party gathering. “He’s attacking Canadian workers, families, and businesses. We can’t let him succeed.”
“We didn’t ask for this fight. But Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves,” Carney told a boisterous crowd of party supporters in Ottawa.
“So the Americans, they should make no mistake, in trade as in hockey, Canada will win,” added the 59-year-old, who will take over from Trudeau in the coming days.
Carney also signaled a shift in approach, saying, “This won’t be business as usual. We will have to do things we haven’t imagined before, at speeds we didn’t think possible.”
Carney vowed to maintain tariffs on American goods until the U.S. showed Canada more respect.
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“The Americans want our resources, our water, our land, our country,” he said. “These are dark days, dark days brought on by a country we can no longer trust.”
He accused Trump of “attacking Canadian workers, families and businesses,” adding “We cannot let him succeed.”
“We’re all being called to stand up for each other and for the Canadian way of life.”
“My government will keep our tariffs in place until the Americans treat us fairly,” he declared.
Justin Trudeau broke down in tears during a press conference in Ottawa while addressing the escalating trade war with the U.S. and his final days as prime minister.
His emotional reaction came as Trump continued to taunt him, referring to him as “Governor Trudeau” and suggesting Canada should become the 51st U.S. state, MailOnline reported.
For months, Trump had ridiculed Trudeau, questioning his leadership and accusing him of using the tariff dispute as a political strategy.
“Believe it or not, despite the terrible job he’s done for Canada, I think that Justin Trudeau is using the tariff problem—which he largely caused—to run again for Prime Minister. So much fun to watch!” Trump wrote on social media.
At his press conference, Trudeau struggled to maintain his composure while discussing childhood healthcare.
“On a personal level, I made sure that every single day in this office, I put Canadians first and had their backs. That’s why I’m here today to say that even in these final days of my government, we will not let Canadians down—today or in the future,” he said, visibly emotional.
Trump has repeatedly spoken about annexing Canada and thrown bilateral trade, the lifeblood of the Canadian economy, into chaos with dizzying tariff actions that have veered in various directions since he took office.
The U.S. had recently imposed a 25% tariff on all goods imported from Canada and Mexico, triggering a trade war. However, just days later, Trump reversed the decision, stating that goods compliant with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would be exempt until April 2, and hinted at a similar exemption for Canada.
Celebrating the outcome in Ottawa, party loyalist Cory Stevenson said, “The Liberal party has the wind in its sails.
“We chose the person who could best face off against (Tory leader) Pierre Poilievre in the next election and deal with Donald Trump,” he told AFP.
Carney has argued that his experience makes him the ideal counter to the US president.
