Canada's Liberal Party has overwhelmingly elected Mark Carney as the country's new prime minister, as the former Bank of Canada governor warned of "dark days" brought on by the United States under Donald Trump. Carney will remain in office until a new general election is held.
Former central bank chief Mark Carney is set to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as he leads Canada through weeks of economic turmoil and into a new election. The 59-year-old economist won the Liberal Party leadership election in a landslide with 85.9 per cent of the vote, beating former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, who came in second with eight per cent.
By leading the party, the former head of the British and Canadian central banks will also take over the prime ministership from Trudeau, at least for now. In a few weeks, new elections are likely in the world's second-largest country, which is under great pressure due to US President Donald Trump's aggressive tariff policy and threats of annexation.
“We have made this the best country in the world and now our neighbors want to take us over. “Absolutely not!” Carney said shortly before the results were announced. Other candidates also took a clear stance against the US in their closing speeches.
Justin Trudeau said: "We are a diplomatic country when we can, but when we have to fight we will fight hard," he said.
Nearly 152,000 of the roughly 400,000 members of the Liberal Party, which has governed Canada for more than 50 years since World War II, participated in the vote.
Carney entered the party leadership race with a centrist, economically oriented agenda. In the trade war with the United States, he wants to continue Trudeau's course of determined resistance.
According to a poll by CTV News, 40 percent of Canadians believe Carney would be the best politician to negotiate with Trump, significantly more than the 26 percent support for the Conservative leader and his biggest domestic political opponent, Pierre Poilievre. (A2 Televizion)
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