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- Mark Carney warns the US under Trump was seeking to seize control of Canada
- 鈥楾he Americans want our resources, our water, our land, our country鈥�
OTTAWA: Canada鈥檚 incoming prime minister Mark Carney struck a defiant note Sunday against the United States, as the former central banker vowed to win US President Donald Trump鈥檚 trade war.
Carney lost no time standing up for 鈥渢he Canadian way of life鈥� after the Liberal Party overwhelmingly elected him to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 ask for this fight. But Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves,鈥� Carney told a boisterous crowd of party supporters in Ottawa.
鈥淪o the Americans, they should make no mistake, in trade as in hockey, Canada will win,鈥� added the 59-year-old, who will take over from Trudeau in the coming days.
Carney may not have the job for long.
Canada must hold elections by October but could well see a snap poll within weeks. Current polls put the opposition Conservatives as slight favorites.
In his victory speech, Carney warned the United States under Trump was seeking to seize control of Canada.
鈥淭he Americans want our resources, our water, our land, our country,鈥� he said.
鈥淭hese are dark days, dark days brought on by a country we can no longer trust.鈥�
He accused Trump of 鈥渁ttacking Canadian workers, families and businesses,鈥� adding: 鈥淲e cannot let him succeed.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e all being called to stand up for each other and for the Canadian way of life.鈥�
Carney, who previously led both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, soundly defeated his main challenger, Trudeau鈥檚 former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, who held several senior cabinet positions in the Liberal government that was first elected in 2015.
Carney won 85.9 percent of the nearly 152,000 votes cast. Freeland took just eight percent of the vote.
Carney campaigned on a promise to stand up to Trump.
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.
Delivering a farewell address, Trudeau said 鈥淐anadians face from our neighbor an existential challenge.鈥�
Celebrating the outcome in Ottawa, party loyalist Cory Stevenson said 鈥渢he Liberal party has the wind in its sails.鈥�
鈥淲e chose the person who could best face off against (Tory leader) Pierre Poilievre in the next election and deal with Donald Trump,鈥� he said.
Carney has argued that his experience makes him the ideal counter to the US president. He has portrayed himself as a seasoned economic crisis manager who led the Bank of Canada through the 2008-2009 financial crisis and the Bank of England through the turbulence that followed the 2016 Brexit vote.
Data released from the Angus Reid polling firm on Wednesday shows Canadians see Carney as the favorite choice to face off against Trump, potentially offering the Liberals a boost over the opposition Conservatives.
Forty-three percent of respondents said they trusted Carney the most to deal with Trump, with 34 percent backing Poilievre.
Before Trudeau announced his plans to resign in January, the Liberals were headed for an electoral wipeout, but the leadership change and Trump鈥檚 influence have dramatically tightened the race.
鈥淲e were written off about four months ago, and now we鈥檙e right back where we should be,鈥� former MP Frank Baylis, who also ran for the leadership, said.
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 private sector roles.
He has never served in parliament nor held an elected public office.
Analysts say his untested campaign skills could prove a liability against a Conservative Party already running attack ads accusing Carney of shifting positions and misrepresenting his experience.
鈥淚t is absolutely a risk. He is unproven in the crucible of an election,鈥� said Cameron Anderson, a political scientist at Ontario鈥檚 Western University.
But he said Carney鈥檚 tough anti-Trump rhetoric 鈥渋s what Canadians want to hear from their leaders.鈥�
鈥淭he average Canadian in the country is viewing these things in an existential way.鈥�