Mark Carney chosen to replace Justin Trudeau as Canada’s prime minister

Justin Trudeau’s replacement as Canada’s prime minister has been named – and they’ve celebrated with a potshot at Donald Trump.

Canada has chosen its next prime minister, with former financier Mark Carney winning the race to replace outgoing leader Justin Trudeau.

Mr Carney won a whopping 86 per cent of the vote in the contest to take over the leadership of Mr Trudeau’s Liberal Party, which sits on the Canadian centre-left.

Speaking at the Liberal Leadership Convention after his victory, he issued a blunt message to Canada’s southern neighbour.

“Canada will never, ever be part of America in any way, shape or form,” said Mr Carney, alluding to US President Donald Trump’s repeatedly stated desire to make it America’s 51st state. He also slammed Mr Trump’s tariff policies.

“We didn’t ask for this fight,” he stressed.

“We are facing the greatest crisis of our lifetimes. We have to do extraordinary things. We have to build things we never imagined we would have to, at a pace we never imagined we would have to.

“Who’s ready to stand up for Canada with me?”

As you would expect, that got a cheer. There has been a surge in defiant national pride among the usually mild Canadians since Mr Trump took office.

Mark Carney, former governor of the bank of Canada pictured on February 25, 2025. Picture: AFP.

The exact timing of the handover has yet to be finalised; Mr Carney and Mr Trudeau will work that out in the coming days.

“This is a nation-defining moment,” Mr Trudeau told the convention.

“Democracy is not a given. Freedom is not a given. Even Canada is not a given.”

Who is Mark Carney?

Mr Carney, who was the overwhelming frontrunner throughout the leadership campaign, previously served as governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England.

He was endorsed by a long list of senior Liberal Party politicians, including much of Mr Trudeau’s cabinet.

But his elevation is unusual in one sense: he will be only the second Canadian prime minister ever to take office without holding a seat in parliament.

Mr Carney made a fortune as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs before entering the Canadian civil service.

Since leaving the Bank of England in 2020, he has served as a United Nations envoy working to get the private sector to invest in climate-friendly technology, and has held other private sector roles.

He has never served in parliament or held an elected public office. Analysts say his untested campaign skills could prove a liability against a Conservative Party which is already running attack ads accusing him of shifting positions and misrepresenting his experience.

The 59-year-old has positioned himself as a new voice untainted by Mr Trudeau, who he has said did not devote enough attention to building Canada’s economy.

On Friday, Mr Carney said Canadians “from coast to coast” wanted change, and referred to himself as a political outsider.

“It’s getting to the point where, after two months, I may have to start calling myself a politician,” he joked.

Outgoing PM Justin Trudeau. Picture: Dave Chan/AFP

Election looms

The new prime minister will soon face an election. Polls currently show the Conservatives are slight favourites to win.

Mr Carney spent the leadership campaign arguing he was the best candidate to defend Canada against Mr Trump’s attacks.

The US President has repeatedly spoken about annexing Canada and thrown bilateral trade, the lifeblood of the Canadian economy, into chaos with dizzying tariff actions that have veered in various directions since he took office.

Mr Trudeau announced his resignation in January after taking time to “reflect over the holidays”.

“This country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it’s become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,” he said outside Rideau Cottage, his residence.

Mr Trudeau said he was a “fighter” but added parliament had been “paralysed for months”.

“It’s time for a reset”, he added, and for the “temperature to come down” in Canadian politics.

Mr Trudeau has since faced further pressure from Mr Trump.

Reacting to Mr Trudeau’s resignation back in January, Mr Trump shared a post on Truth Social suggesting the Canada should merge with the US to form a “great nation”.

“Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State,” Mr Trump wrote.

“The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat. Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned.

“If Canada merged with the US, there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them. Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!”

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland quit in December after disagreeing with Mr Trudeau over how to respond to Mr Trump’s tariff plans.

Data released from the Angus Reid polling firm on Wednesday showed Canadians deemed Mr Carney as the favourite choice to face off against Mr Trump, potentially offering the Liberals a boost over the opposition Conservatives.

Forty-three per cent of respondents said they trusted Mr Carney the most to deal with Mr Trump, with 34 per cent backing Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.

Before Mr Trudeau announced his plans to resign in January, the Liberals were heading for a dramatic electoral wipe-out, but the leadership change and Mr Trump’s hectoring have tightened the race.

Mr Trudeau. Picture: AFP

In the coming days, Mr Trudeau and the new Liberal leader will visit Canada’s Governor-General Mary Simon – King Charles III’s official representative in Canada – who will task the leader with forming a government.

Son of former PM

The eldest son of the charismatic former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, who died in 2000, Mr Trudeau came late to politics after working as a snowboard instructor, bartender, bouncer and teacher.

He was first elected to the House of Commons in 2008 to represent a working-class Montreal neighbourhood.

He brought in Senate reforms, signed a new trade deal with the United States and introduced a carbon tax to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions during his first two terms as prime minister.

The father of three also legalised cannabis, held a public inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and passed legislation permitting medically assisted suicide.

In 2023, Mr Trudeau separated from his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau after 18 years of marriage.

They were wed in Montreal in 2005 but made fewer public appearances together in recent years.

They announced their separation on social media saying the decision followed “meaningful and difficult conversations”.

“We remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build,” a statement said.

The couple share three children, Xavier, 17, Ella-Grace 16, and Hadrien, 11.