The Liberal Party of Canada seemed ready on Sunday to choose a former central banker and a political novice like his next leader, replacement of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as he confronts the threats of US President Donald Trump.
Mark Carney, who was governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, is expected to be appointed the new liberal leader when the results of a vote of around 400,000 party members were later announced on Sunday.
The other main challenger is the former Trudeau Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland, who held several senior cabinet positions in the Liberal government which was elected for the first time in 2015.
Whoever wins the vote will succeed Trudeau as Prime Minister, but will soon face a general election which of polls are currently showing the rival conservative party as light favorites to win.
Carney has accumulated the endorsements, including most of the Trudeau cabinet, and a Freeland victory would be a shock for the Liberals while they are heading for a general election.
Despite a rupture radically with the Prime Minister in December, analysts say that voters still bind Freeland to the unpopular file of Trudeau.
Carney and Freeland both argued that they are the best candidates to defend Canada against Trump’s attacks.
The American president spoke several times about the annexation of Canada and the launch of bilateral trade, the vital element of the Canadian economy, in chaos with dizzying pricing actions that have turned into various directions since he took office.
“ The most serious crisis ”
Carney argued that he is a seasoned economic director, reminding voters that he directed the Bank of Canada during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and led the Bank of England through the turbulence that followed the Brexit 2016 vote.
Trump “attacks what we build. He attacks what we sell. He attacks how we make our lives, “said Carney to supporters during a closing campaign rally near Toronto on Friday.
“We are faced with the most serious crisis in our lives,” he added. “Everything in my life prepared for this moment.”
On Wednesday, the published data of the Angus Reid survey company show that Canadians see Carney as the favorite choice to face Trump, a feature that could offer Liberals a boost compared to the opposition conservatives.
Forty-three percent of respondents said they had trusted Carney the most to face Trump, with 34% to support the conservative chief Pierre Hairyvre.
Most of the polls, however, still list the conservatives and the current favorites to win the elections, which must be held by October but could come in a few weeks.
Not a politician?
Carney made a fortune as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs before entering the Canadian public service.
Since he left the Bank of England in 2020, he has been sent from the United Nations for the private sector to invest in climate technology and has held private sector positions.
He never sat in parliament or occupied an elected public service.
Analysts say that his unstoppted campaign skills could prove a handicap against a conservative party that already broadcasts attacks accusing Carney to move positions and distort their experience.
The 59 -year -old man positioned himself as a new voice without entry by Trudeau, who, according to him, has not devoted enough attention to the construction of the economy of Canada.
On Friday, Carney said that Canadians “from one ocean to another” wanted changes and qualified as a political foreigner.
“It is to the point where after two months, I may have to start calling me a politician,” he joked.
Trudeau said he would agree on a power transition once the new liberal chief in place, refusing to give an exact date.
When ready, the couple will visit the Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon – the official representative of King Charles III in Canada – who will accuse the new liberal leader in the formation of a government.
The new Prime Minister can only hold the position for several weeks, according to the calendar and the results of the imminent election.
