Ex-central banker Mark Carney was formally sworn in as prime minister of Canada on Friday, putting him in a position to fight tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump that could devastate the trade-dependent Canadian economy.
Mark Carney has said Canada will never be part of the US, after being sworn in as the country’s 24th prime minister in a sudden rise to power.
“We will never, in any shape or form, be part of the US,” the former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England told a crowd outside Rideau Hall in Ottawa, rejecting Donald Trump’s annexation threats. “We are very fundamentally a different country.”
Canada “expects respect” from the US, he added, while also voicing hope his government could find ways “to work together” with the Trump administration.
Less than a week ago, Carney beat the former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, the former government house leader Karina Gould and the former member of parliament Frank Baylis with a dominant 85.9% of the vote, in a closely watched leadership race. He has no prior elected experience and does not have a seat in the House of Commons, making him a rarity in Canadian history.
In the presence of Governor General Mary Simon, the personal representative of King Charles, who is Canada’s head of state, Carney took the oath of office.
The moment capped a momentous rise for the 59-year-old, who becomes the first Canadian prime minister without any serious political experience.
Carney plans to travel to London and Paris next week, said a diplomat aware of the plans. Canada has sought to shore up alliances in Europe as its relations with the United States sink to unprecedented lows.
Carney has reshaped his cabinet with a view to dealing with Washington. Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc is moving to the international trade portfolio and will be replaced by current Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.
Carney crushed his rivals on Sunday in a race to become leader of the ruling Liberal Party. He replaces Justin Trudeau, who spent more than nine years in office.
Carney, a former head of both the Bank of Canada and Bank of England, successfully argued his position as an outsider with a history of tackling crises meant he was the best person to take on Trump, who has repeatedly talked about annexing Canada.
On Wednesday, Carney told reporters that he was ready to meet Trump when “there is respect for Canadian sovereignty.”
He also said he would keep in place retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods until the United States showed Canada some respect.
Efforts are underway to arrange a call between Trump and Carney in the next couple of days, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told reporters on Friday.
Carney is due to name a cabinet that will likely not be in office for long, since Liberal insiders say he will call a snap election within the next two weeks.
If he changes his mind, opposition parties say they will unite to bring down the minority Liberal government in a confidence vote at the end of March.
Once the election is called, Carney will be very limited in what he can do politically because convention dictates he cannot make major decisions when running for office.
Opinion polls currently suggest it will be a close race with the official opposition Conservatives, with neither party gaining enough seats for a majority government.
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