Former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor Mark Carney says he is “considering” entering the race to replace Justin Trudeau as leader of Canada’s Liberal Party.
Trudeau said on Monday he would step down after nine years as Canada’s prime minister – after mounting pressure from his own party and poor polls.
Mr. Carney, 59, is one of several names on the staff to replace Trudeau, along with his former deputy Chrystia Freeland and Transportation Minister Anita Anand.
Trudeau says he will remain in office until a new leader is chosen. Meanwhile, Canada’s parliament has been adjourned – or suspended – until March 24.
The Liberals are likely to try to install a new leader by the end of the grace period – although the timeline and procedure remain unclear. Trudeau promised a “robust, competitive process across the country.”
Mr. Carney, who runs an asset management firm and has served as an adviser to Trudeau, told Britain’s Financial Times newspaper: “I will carefully consider this decision with my family over the coming days.”
He has long been considered a candidate for leadership, although he has never held public office despite his economic background.
During his career as a central banker – at the Bank of Canada from 2007 to 2013 and then at the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020 – Mr Carney was influential in the response of two major economies to the global financial crisis.
He also led efforts to support the British economy through the exit from the European Union and the outbreak of Covid-19.
Whoever succeeds Trudeau in Canada could face an immediate test. The country must hold its next federal election by October, but it is thought likely that the vote will be called before then. The opposition Conservative Party, led by Pierre Poilievre, currently has a double-digit lead in the polls.
Trudeau himself recently admitted that he had been trying to hire Mr. Carney in his team, most recently as finance minister. “He would be an outstanding addition at a time when Canadians need good people to step up in politics,” he said last year.
Mr Carney would also bring expertise on environmental issues through his role as the United Nations’ special envoy for climate action, recently calling the net zero goal “the greatest commercial opportunity of our time”.
He is a proponent of some liberal policies that have been unpopular in the country’s conservative circles, such as the federal carbon tax policy, a party climate policy that critics argue is a financial burden on Canadians.
He was also critical of Poilievre, saying the conservative leader’s vision for the country’s future was “without a plan” and “only slogans”.
Other candidates believed to be credible replacements for Trudeau include his former deputy Chrystia Freeland, who resigned from her cabinet after falling out with the prime minister’s office in December, and Transportation Minister Anita Anand, a lawyer who was elected in 2019.
