Economist Mark Carney chosen to lead Liberal Party as Trudeau era ends

The Liberal Party of Canada chose former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney as their new leader today, marking the end of Justin Trudeau’s decade as prime minister.

Liberal party members cast 151,899 votes, with Carney earning 131,674 of those votes, or 85.9 per cent, in a single round of voting to win by a landslide.

Carney, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, former government House leader Karina Gould and former MP Frank Baylis were all running to lead their party into the next election.

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Carney, aged 59, was raised in Edmonton and is married to Diana Fox Carney, a climate and finance policy consultant at the Eurasia Group. They have four daughters, and he is godfather to Chrystia Freeland’s son.

The polls are closed. Thank you to everyone who joined us on this campaign — and let’s keep building, together. pic.twitter.com/f9J6E1rg2B

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) March 9, 2025

Carney studied economics abroad, obtaining a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, as well as a master’s and a doctorate from Oxford. At Harvard, he played as a backup goalie for the hockey team.

He spent 13 years at the global investment banking firm Goldman Sachs in its London, New York, Tokyo and Toronto offices and held senior positions at the Bank of Canada before being appointed governor in 2008. He then went on to become governor of the Bank of England in 2013 where he stayed until 2020.

Since 2020, he’s been chair of investment firm Brookfield Asset Management. He is also an external member of the board of the payment-processing financial tech company Stripe and he sat on the foundation board of the World Economic Forum.

When Carney launched his campaign on Jan. 16, he said he has since resigned from these roles.

Trudeau will step down officially in the days to come, after a conversation with the incoming leader to determine exactly when that will happen.

“It should happen reasonably quickly, but there’s a lot of things to do in a transition like this, particularly in this complicated time in the world,” Trudeau said earlier this week.

What happens next?

When Trudeau formally resigns as prime minister, he’ll meet with Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and, on his advice, Simon will invite the new Liberal leader to form a government.

That could happen right away, said David Zussman, an adjunct professor in the school of public administration at the University of Victoria who has written a book about political transitions. Or it could take days, or weeks.

“Justin Trudeau could, in fact, be sitting in his seat in the House of Commons when the House comes back at the end of March,” he said.

But that seems unlikely — on Thursday Trudeau insisted he does not plan to stay on in a caretaker role during the next election.

When will we get a new government?

The new leader needs to name a cabinet and set a date to swear them in.

Trudeau’s cabinet has 37 members. Some ministers could stay on, or there could be new faces around the table from the Liberal caucus.

Michael Wernick, the former clerk of the privy council, said the new leader has “what the hockey coaches call a short bench” because so many Liberal MPs have decided not to run in the next election.

He suggested a smaller cabinet is likely, with some ministers carrying more than one portfolio.

Zussman said keeping some of the same ministers makes things simple for the public service.

New ministers need to be vetted and set up with things like security and secure phones, drivers and cars.

And everyone has to get up to speed on their files — quickly — because an election is coming in the next six months.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses media following the imposition of a raft of tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump against Canada, Mexico and China, in Ottawa, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. Minister of Public Safety David McGuinty, left to right, Global Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and Minister of Governmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc look on. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang)

What about the Trump effect?

Cabinet ministers like Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Public Safety Minister David McGuinty have been leading Canada’s push to convince U.S. President Donald Trump that tariffs are a terrible idea.

The new leader has to decide whether it’s prudent to keep some of these key players in their roles and maintain the contacts they’ve made with counterparts across the border, or whether it’s better to show they’re not — as the Conservatives have charged — “just like Justin.”

Trump’s ever-changing trade policy and foreign policy make this “the most unique set of circumstances I’ve ever observed,” Zussman said.

What happens when Parliament comes back?

When Trudeau announced his plans to resign in January, he prorogued Parliament until March 24.

The fall sitting of the House of Commons that ended in December was dominated by a Conservative filibuster that prevented almost all House business from getting done.

The Opposition launched a number of attempts to oust the minority Liberals with non-confidence motions, and the government pushed through only a few pieces of legislation with the help of the NDP.

Returning to the House of Commons to deliver a throne speech and deal with issues of supply would mean the new Liberal government would face confidence votes right away.

The new leader inherits a minority government with no supply-and-confidence deal and an opposition that’s eager to boot the Liberals out.

When he was asked on Feb. 5 if forcing an election now would be a responsible choice, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said it’s “the only responsible course of action.”

The New Democrats, however, have said they are willing to work with the Liberals in a limited way. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he wants legislation passed to support Canadian workers affected by tariffs and “an election is secondary to that.”

When could there be a federal election?

An election call could come before March 24.

That means all parties need to nominate candidates in 343 ridings. The Liberals, at last count, had about 160 people nominated.

The campaign will last between 37 and 51 days, with the vote landing on a Monday.

“The parties will be enormously distracted during an election campaign,” Zussman said.

“However, it seems to me that we’re going to be negotiating non-stop for as long as Trump is in power. He keeps changing the rules every day, so I don’t know when a good time is.”

It’s important to note that Canada will still have a government that can respond to tariffs and talk to the Trump administration during an election. The cabinet stays in place in caretaker mode, though it’s unable to pass new laws.

— with files by Canadian Press

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