New PM of Canada: Former central banker Mark Carney is set to become the next Prime Minister of the country following a landslide victory in the Liberal Party leadership vote.
New PM of Canada: Mark Carney will become Canada’s next prime minister after a Liberal Party leadership vote in a landslide, succeeding Justin Trudeau. The former central banker is now set to lead the party into the next general elections and will be responsible for managing Ottawa’s approach to challenges posed by US President Donald Trump.
Carney secured a commanding victory in the Liberal Party leadership race, garnering 85.9 per cent of the votes. The contest was triggered after Trudeau announced his resignation in early January, prompted by internal dissent within the party and Chrystia Freeland’s exit from the cabinet.
Who is Mark Carney?
- Mark Carney, 59, is a highly respected economist and former central banker, known for his leadership at both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England.
- Carney was born on March 16, 1965, in the small town of Fort Smith in Canada’s Northwest Territories and was raised in Edmonton, Alberta.
- He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University in 1988. He later pursued further studies at Oxford University, where he obtained both a master’s and a doctoral degree in economics.
- Like many Canadians, Carney had a passion for ice hockey and even served as a backup goalie for Harvard’s team during his college years.
- Carney served as the Governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013, where he played a crucial role in steering the country through the global financial crisis. His leadership during that period earned him international recognition.
- In 2013, he was appointed as the Governor of the Bank of England, becoming the first non-British citizen to hold the position since the bank’s founding in 1694. Carney remained in the role until 2020, overseeing key monetary policies and navigating the UK’s economy through the challenges of Brexit and global economic shifts.
- In 2020, he began serving as the United Nations’ special envoy for climate action and finance.
- Carney is a former Goldman Sachs executive. He worked for 13 years in London, Tokyo, New York and Toronto, before being appointed deputy governor of the Bank of Canada in 2003. He has no experience in politics.
- Carney holds Canadian, British (UK), and Irish citizenship. However, he has taken steps to ultimately retain only Canadian citizenship, which is not required by law but seen as politically wise. His wife, Diana, is British-born, and together they have four daughters.
(With AP inputs)
Also Read: Mark Carney, ex-central banker, set to replace Justin Trudeau as Canada’s next Prime Minister
Also Read: Israel to cut off its electricity supply to Gaza as ceasefire deadlock continues