Mark Carney Will Be Canada’s New Leader: What He’s Said About Donald Trump

Canada’s Liberal Party has selected banking executive Mark Carney as its new leader, who will take over from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and handle trade and tariff talks with President Donald Trump at least until Canada’s next general election later this year.

Newsweek reached out to the White House on Sunday evening by email for comment.

Why It Matters

Trudeau announced his resignation following turmoil in his party over his response to his handling of the nation’s budget.

Trudeau directly cited “internal battles” as the reason why he felt he could not lead the party into the next general election, which was expected to happen around October this year, but the new prime minister could call an election sooner if he so chooses.

At the same time, Trump has repeatedly targeted Canada with tariffs since taking office in January, including the threat of a 250% tariff on American dairy products going across the northern border, which could start as soon as this week.

Trump also has repeatedly talked about his desire to make Canada part of the United States, but the idea has been roundly rejected by Liberals and Conservatives, with Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre insisting: “We will never be the 51st state. We will bear any burden and pay any price to protect the sovereignty and independence of our country.”

What To Know

Carney won the party leadership on March 9 in a clear victory with 131,674 votes from party members, with 85.9 percent of the vote. Former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland got 11,134 votes, giving her second place with 8 percent of the vote.

He will take over from Trudeau after the party organizes a transition process. It remains unclear how long the process will take or how long Carney will remain prime minister of Canada.

During his victory speech, Carney took aim at both Trump and Poilievre, accusing both of seeking to undermine the nation’s economy in order to achieve their goals. Carney defied them both to try.

“There’s someone who’s trying to weaken our economy: Donald Trump, and Donald Trump, as we know, has put, as the prime minister just said, unjustified tariffs on what we build, on what we sell, on how we make a living,” Carney said.

“He’s attacking Canadian families, workers and businesses, and we cannot let him succeed, and we won’t the I am proud,” Carney continued. “I am proud of the response of Canadians who are making their voices heard and their wallets felt. I am grateful for how our provinces are stepping up to the fight, because when we are united, we are Canada strong,” adding that “my government will keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us respect.”

He later said of Poilievre that he is “the type of lifelong politician, and I’ve seen this type around the world, a lifelong politician who worships at the altar of the free market despite never having made a payroll himself.”

“And now in the face of President Trump’s threats, Pierre Poilievre still refuses to get his security clearance at a time when our national security is under threat and has never been before,” Carney said. “At a time of immense economic insecurity, he would undermine the Bank of Canada.”

“I know that these are dark days, dark days brought on by a country we can no longer trust,” Carney said as he closed out his speech. “We are getting over the shock, but let us never forget the lessons. We have to look after ourselves and we have to look out for each other. We need to pull together in the tough days ahead.”

Who Is Mark Carney?

Carney is an economist who has served as the governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and the governor of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020.

Carney positioned himself as the person best-equipped to face-off with Trump in the growing tariff and trade war, and the party appears to agree. He beat out Freeland who resigned as finance minister in January amid a falling out with Trudeau over his response to Trump’s tariffs.

Some polling indicates that with Carney in charge, the Liberal Party could run a close election against the rival Conservative Party, which previously appeared poised to take control of the government once Canadians held their next General Election.

One of Carney’s key promises is to “make Canada the strongest economy in the G7,” which may indicate intent on Carney and the Liberal Party’s part to lean into an anti-U.S. stance to tap into the nation’s concerns about Trump.

What Has Mark Carney Said About Donald Trump?

Carney has repeatedly posted on X, formerly Twitter, about Trump, and spoken about his intent for how to handle the president once he secured the election.

“President Trump thinks we’re pushovers,” Carney posted on February 1. “He doesn’t know Canadians. We will stand up for our country. We will stand united. We will get stronger. Together.”

He also took a shot at Trump’s penchant for using social media to announce policy, writing on February 22: “Canadians don’t want to check social media every morning to see what President Trump might do to our economy. This is Canada — and we will decide our future.”

In a lengthy post on February 10, Carney warned that Trump wanted to see Canada “lose our cool” and urged the nation to “stay united, with the right response.”

“In the short term, Canada needs to manage foreign trade threats with dollar-for-dollar tariffs and supports for our critical steel and aluminum workers,” he wrote. “And as we look to the future, we’ll need a coordinated strategy to boost investment, make our companies more competitive, and diversify our trading partners.”

In another post just a day later, Carney wrote: “President Trump seems to think he can suspend the laws of the United States, of international trade, and of economics. The American Congress and US courts will decide for themselves how they will address these violations of Presidential powers.”

He continued: “President Trump’s actions will hurt millions of Americans workers and all American consumers. And after promising to reduce inflation, his actions will send it and interest rates up. In Canada, we understand the laws of economics. That’s why we will be masters of our own house in building the strongest economy in the G7.”

What Happens Next?

Carney will take over from Trudeau this week and begin handling talks with Trump and the U.S. as well as other international allies.

Update, 3/9/25 at 7:30 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comments from Mark Carney from his victory speech.