Carney won with 85 percent of the vote.
Mark Carney has won the race to lead Canada’s Liberal Party, securing his place as the country’s next prime minister.
The former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England will now replace Justin Trudeau as leader, taking office at a time of heightened tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump. A short transition will take place over the next week, with Carney expected to officially take over in the coming days.
Carney, who was widely seen as the frontrunner throughout the contest, won with strong support from Trudeau’s cabinet and over half of the Liberal members of Parliament. His main challenger, Chrystia Freeland, Trudeau’s former deputy prime minister, fell short despite her experience in senior cabinet roles. In all, Carney won with 85 percent of the vote.
The Liberal Party confirmed that 151,899 members cast ballots before voting closed at 3 p.m. local time. Freeland won 8 percent of the vote, while two other candidates–Frank Baylis and Karina Gould–both won around 3 percent of the vote.
Carney has positioned himself as the strongest candidate to push back against Trump’s policies, which have disrupted Canada’s economy through trade uncertainty and tariffs.
The U.S. president has repeatedly made comments about annexing Canada, straining relations between the two countries.
During his victory speech, Carney said he will lead with “fiscal responsibility, social justice, and international leadership.”
He credited Trudeauu with “transforming Canada” by uplifting chidlren out of poverty, moving reconcilliation forward, and “defending freedom and democracy here and throughout the world.”
“I think I speak for everyone here when I thank you for your heard work, leadership, and service to our great country.”
“There’s someone who’s trying to weaken our economy. Donald Trump, as we know, unjustified tariffs on what we build, what we sell, and how we make a living. He’s attacking Canadian workers, families and business. We cannot let him succeed, and we won’t. I’m proud of the response of Canadians making their voices heard and wallets felt,” Carney said.
“Donald Trump is trying to weaken our economy, but there’s someone else who if he succeeds, will weaken our economy. It’s Pierre Poilievre. Pierre Poilievre just doesn’t get it. He is the type of lifelong politician, and I’ve seen this type around the world, he worships at the altar of the free market despite never having made a payroll himself. And now, in the face of president Trump’s threats, Poilievre still refuses to get his security clearance. At a time where our national security is under threat in a way it’s never been before. In a time of immense economic insecurity, he would undermine the Bank of Canada. He called for the closing of CBC when foreign interference is on the march. He insults our mayors and ignores our First Nations when its time to build and will put an end to international aid when democracy and human rights are in danger across the world. He will also let our planet burn.”
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