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Former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor Mark Carney speaks with people as he announces that he is running to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as leader of the ruling Liberal Party, in Edmonton, on Jan. 16.Amber Bracken/Reuters
Former central banker Mark Carney made his bid to become the country’s next prime minister official on Thursday, launching his Liberal leadership race by pitching himself as an outsider and an unconventional politician who can fix a system that is not working for ordinary Canadians.
Mr. Carney introduced himself to the crowd at the Edmonton community centre and arena as “Mark” from Fort Smith, NWT, who then grew up in the Alberta capital.
“The system, it’s not working as it should, and it’s not working as it could. People are anxious. No wonder. Too many are falling behind. Too many young people can’t afford a home, too many people can’t find a doctor,” Mr. Carney told the crowd.
Opinion: Barring big blunders, the Liberal leadership is Mark Carney’s to lose
Adding to those challenges, he said are major technological and economic shifts driven by climate change and AI and the threats posed by incoming president Donald Trump. Mr. Carney said the new U.S. administration will be led by a man “who threatens economic force on his closest, most steadfast allies.”
“I’m here to earn your trust to lead that fight. I’m back home in Edmonton, to declare my candidacy for leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister of Canada.”
The governing party will elect its next leader on March 9. That person will also replace Mr. Trudeau as prime minister though they are expected to have a short runway before the next federal election.
The Liberals face immense headwinds, including lackluster fundraising and a 27-point deficit in public opinion polling compared to the Conservatives.
Mr. Carney will face off against former deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland and Government House Leader Karina Gould. Both are expected to make their own leadership bids official in the next three days.
Endorsements roll in for Carney, Freeland as former central banker plans to launch leadership bid Thursday
Also planning campaigns are Nova Scotia MP Jaime Battiste, Ontario MP Chandra Arya and former Quebec MP Frank Baylis.
All candidates must be declared by Jan. 23. To make it on the ballot they must be able to raise enough funds to pay a $350,000 entry fee.
Mr. Carney is a political rookie but has deep roots in the top echelons of business and politics in Canada and abroad. The 59-year-old alum of both Harvard and Oxford was governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and held the same post at the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020.
He is the chair of Brookfield Asset Management, which manages more than $1-trillion in assets, and sits on numerous boards of directors including Bloomberg LP and Stripe, a financial services firm.
He also has several other posts and affiliations, including as United Nations special envoy on climate action and finance.
Mr. Carney first declared himself a Liberal at the party’s 2021 virtual convention, but by then the party had already been trying to recruit him for years. He consistently rebuffed those efforts even after his declaration, but did agree to chair Mr. Trudeau’s task force for economic growth last fall.
The most recent December effort to recruit him spelled the beginning of the end of Mr. Trudeau’s tenure after Ms. Freeland quit in a public rebuke of the Prime Minister rather than wait to be demoted by him to make way for Mr. Carney.
He has yet to explain his role behind the scenes, which led the Prime Minister’s Office to believe he would take Ms. Freeland’s job after the Prime Minister said he was going to remove her from finance. The senior post ended up going to Dominic LeBlanc instead.
Mr. Carney told the audience that he is not the usual politician, but brings a wealth of economic experience that is unparalleled to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party has led the Liberals by more than 20 percentage points for more than a year.
“It’s not the time for lifelong politicians like Pierre Poilievre with naïve and dangerous ideas,” Carney said, attacking the Tory leader for saying the country is broken. Carney also promised if elected Liberal leader, he will defeat the Conservatives. “We are going to win the general election.”
The Opposition Conservatives — who have attacked Mr. Carney for months in the House of Commons and on social media — met his official launch with a paid digital ad campaign. It focuses on Mr. Carney’s past commitment to a consumer price on carbon and calls Mr. Carney “Just Like Justin,” a reference to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The Conservatives are expected to use similar branding against Ms. Freeland and Ms. Gould, as well.
Mr. Carney also vowed to stand up against Mr. Trump and rebuild the Canadian economy, but he did not lay out any proposals on how he would do that.
More to come.
