Mark Carney is sworn in as Canada's new prime minister as country deals
with Trump's trade war
[March 15, 2025]
By ROB GILLIES
TORONTO (AP) — Former central banker Mark Carney was sworn in as
Canada’s new prime minister on Friday, and will now try to steer his
country through a trade war brought by U.S. President Donald Trump,
annexation threats and an expected federal election.
Carney, 59, replaces Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced his
resignation in January but remained in power until the Liberal Party
elected a new leader. Carney is widely expected to trigger a general
election in the coming days or weeks.
“We will never, ever, in any way shape or form, be part of the United
States. America is not Canada,” Carney said. “We are very fundamentally
a different country.”
The governing Liberal Party had appeared poised for a historic election
defeat this year until Trump declared economic war and repeatedly has
said Canada should become the 51st state. Now the party and its new
leader could come out on top.
Carney has said he’s ready to meet with Trump if he shows respect for
Canadian sovereignty. He said he doesn't plan to visit Washington at the
moment but hopes to have a phone call with the president soon.
“The president is a successful businessman and deal maker. We’re his
largest client in so many industries,” Carney said. “Clients expect
respect and working together in a proper commercial way.”
Carney navigated crises when he was the head of the Bank of Canada
during the 2008 financial crisis, and then in 2013 when he became the
first noncitizen to run the Bank of England — helping to manage the
worst impacts of Brexit in the U.K.
Carney, a former Goldman Sachs executive with no experience in politics,
becomes Canada’s 24th prime minister. He said protecting Canadian
workers and their families in the face of unjustified trade actions and
growing the economy will be his top priorities.
Carney said he will travel to Europe to visit French President Emmanuel
Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the coming days. He
received invitations from both.
“We must diversify our trade partners and strengthen our security in so
doing,” Carney said.
Trump put 25% tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening
sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products April 2. He has threatened
economic coercion in his annexation threats and suggested the border is
a fictional line.
Carney called the idea “crazy.”
The U.S. trade war and Trump's talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state
have infuriated Canadians, who are booing the American anthem at NHL and
NBA games. Some are canceling trips south of the border, and many are
avoiding buying American goods when they can.
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Prime minister-designate Mark Carney arrives for a swearing in
ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Friday, March 14, 2025. (Adrian
Wyld /The Canadian Press via AP)
Carney said he’s worked with Trump before at G7 and G20 summits
during Trump’s first presidency.
“We share some experiences. I have been in the private sector. I
have worked in the real estate sector. I have done large
transactions,” Carney said. “We will both be looking out for our
countries but he knows, and I know from long experience, that we can
find mutual solutions that win for both.”
The opposition Conservatives hoped to make the election about
Trudeau, whose popularity declined as food and housing prices rose
and immigration surge.
But after decades of bilateral stability, the vote on Canada’s next
leader now is expected to focus on who is best equipped to deal with
the U.S.
“He will do very well. He’s respected internationally,” former Prime
Minister Jean Chrétien told reporters Friday. But, he added: “There
is no magic solution. This is not a normal situation. We’ve never
seen someone who changes his mind every five minutes as president of
the United States."
A new Cabinet of 13 men and 11 women was sworn in, smaller than
Trudeau's 37-member team. François-Philippe Champagne becomes
Canada's new finance minister, the government's second most powerful
position. Champagne has said a new prime minister offers a chance of
a reset with Trump.
Dominic LeBlanc goes from finance to to intergovernmental affairs.
Mélanie Joly remains foreign minister. Chrystia Freeland, a former
deputy prime minister and finance minister who lost to Carney in the
Liberal Party leadership race, becomes minister of transport and
internal trade.
Carney met his Cabinet and eliminated a consumer carbon price on his
first day, undoing Trudeau’s signature climate policy. He called his
government “Canada's new government” in an effort to distance
himself from Trudeau.
Carney also took aim at opposition Conservative leader Pierre
Poilievre, a career politician who Carney said is always negative.
“Negativity won't pay the rent or the mortgage. Negativity won't
bring down the price of groceries. Negativity won't win a trade
war,” he said.
Poilievre urged Canadians not to give the Liberals a fourth mandate,
saying it's the same Liberal government and that Carney is “just
like Justin.”
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