Canada’s Liberal Party on Sunday (Mar 9) elected Mark Carney as the country’s next prime minister. The final tally showed that the 59-year-old won 85.9 per cent of the ballots cast in the Liberal Party leadership vote as he has been tasked with managing Ottawa’s response to recent threats from US President Donald Trump.
While addressing the supporters, Carney accused Trump of seeking to take over Canada, an effort he said must be defeated.
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“America is not Canada. And Canada will never, ever be part of America in any way, shape or form. The Americans want our resources, our water, our land, our country,” Carney said, further adding that the US president is “attacking Canadian workers, families, and businesses. We cannot let him succeed.”
Trump often mocked Justin Trudeau, calling him “governor” instead of prime minister and referring to Canada as the “51st state”.
While delivering a farewell address to his Liberal Party, Trudeau, the outgoing prime minister, warned that Canada faces an “existential challenge” from the US.
“Canadians face from our neighbour an existential challenge,” Trudeau told party members gathered in Ottawa.
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Carney to take office
Carney will take over from Trudeau over the coming days, however, he may not have the job for long as the nation must hold elections by October but Carney could well call a snap poll within weeks.
Current polls put the opposition Conservatives as slight favourites.
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Who is Mark Carney?
Carney has previously led both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. He defeated his main challenger – Chrystia Freeland, who has held several senior cabinet positions in the Liberal government that was first elected in 2015.
Carney has maintained that he is best candidate to defend Canada against Trump’s attack he said since entering the Liberal leadership race.
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Carney, who has never served in parliament nor held an elected public office, made a fortune as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs before entering the Canadian civil service.
Experts said that his untested campaign skills could prove a liability against the Conservative Party.
(With inputs fro agencies)