By Robert Nowinski
With the leave of Trudeau, Canada needs a new prime minister, and Mark Carney has taken on that role. Elected in March, he will take over and we shall see what he will do. He might do worse or better than Trudeau, who knows.
Mr. Carney was previously a central banker who won over his opponent, Chrystia Freeland, in Canada’s Liberal Party. He won with nearly 86% of the votes, 131,674 to 11,134. He has had much experience in global finance and has to tackle tariffs set by Trump.
Speaking of which, the trade war was very helpful to his election win. The surge of nationalism from these tariffs is a big boost to the Liberal party. His time as Governor of the Bank of Canada during the 2008 financial crisis, as well as being the first non-British person to be appointed as Governor of the Bank of England after they split from the EU, will definitely help him with the tariff issues.
He has also started to work on tackling energy usage and fossil fuels, focusing on shoring up Canada’s infrastructure, as well as involving indigenous people in this by working with them on this future of cleaner energy and also helping improve their rights. He has also worked on making more national parks and conservation areas.
Some of the things he will work on is a 2x increase in home building, using Canadian resources via a standalone federal entity that works for affordable housing. He will try to ease the cost of living by reducing taxes, extending the national insurance program, and cap the number of temporary workers and international students allowed into the country to less than 5% of the population by the end of 2027. He also plans to build a national electricity grid, increase military spending, and boost domestic trade and car-making.
As for the United States, our relationship with Canada will take time to stabilize, especially on the economic side. Carney has also upheld the idea that Canada will not be part of the USA, saying, “As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale. We’re sitting in one right now. Buckingham Palace, you visited, as well, and having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign last several months, it’s not for sale. Won’t be for sale ever.”
The tariff will stay for now. However, Trump still thinks that someday we will have Canada as the 51st state. In his words, “Time will tell. It’s only time. But I say never say never.”
Only time will tell if he does better than Trudeau, and managing relations with the U.S. will also be a big thing for him to focus on. With his experience, he should do a good job on the tariff/money side, but I’m not sure on the politics side.
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