TORONTO — Former central banker Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s new prime minister on Friday, and will now try to steer his country through a trade war brought by U.S. President Donald Trump, a threat of annexation and an expected federal election.
Carney, 59, replaces Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced his resignation in January but remained in power until the Liberal Party elected a new leader. Carney is widely expected to trigger a general election in the coming days or weeks.
The governing Liberal Party had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared economic war and threatened to annex the entire country as a 51st state. Now the party and its new leader could come out on top.
Carney has said he’s ready to meet with Trump if he shows “respect for Canadian sovereignty″ and is willing to take ”a common approach, a much more comprehensive approach for trade.″
Trump put 25% tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products April 2. He has threatened economic coercion in his annexation threats and suggested the border is a fictional line.
The U.S. trade war and Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state have infuriated Canadians, who are booing the American anthem at NHL and NBA games. Some are canceling trips south of the border, and many are avoiding buying American goods when they can.
The surge in Canadian nationalism has bolstered the Liberal Party’s chances in a parliamentary election expected within days or weeks, and Liberal showings have been improving in opinion polls.
Carney, who navigated crises when he was the head of the Bank of Canada from 2008, and then in 2013 when he became the first noncitizen to run the Bank of England — helping to manage the worst impacts of Brexit in the U.K. — will now try to steer Canada through the trade war brought by Trump.
Carney, a former Goldman Sachs executive with no experience in politics, becomes Canada’s 24th prime minister.
“He will do very well. He’s respected internationally,” former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien told reporters Friday. But, he added: “There is no magic solution. This is not a normal situation. We’ve never seen someone who changes his mind every five minutes as president of the United States. It creates problems everywhere, not only in Canada.”
