Mark Carney was sworn in as the 24th prime minister of Canada on Friday. Carney replaces outgoing PM Justin Trudeau, who stepped down in January after leading the country for nearly 10 years.
A former central banker who was recently named the leader of the Liberal Party, Carney had never held elected office until today.
Is Donald Trump helping Mark Carney and the Liberals?
On Friday, Carney swore allegiance to King Charles III as well as swearing himself to secrecy in all things regarding his business with the king at Privy Council before pledging to faithfully execute the powers of the prime minister.
His Cabinet was also sworn in during the ceremony, which took place at Ottawa’s Rideau Hall.
Though he is largely expected to call for new elections in the coming days or weeks, Carney and his Liberal Party may have a new lease on life thanks to an angry neighbor, US President Donald Trump.
Until Trump took office, the Liberals were looking at certain electoral doom as their popularity waned. But abusive statements by the US president — insulting not only Trudeau but the whole of Canada — his repeated insistence that Canada should become a US state and his decision to start an unprovoked trade war — with America’s neighbor, ally and leading trading partner — seem to have breathed new wind into his party’s sails.
Some in Carney’s Cabinet, such as Francois-Philippe Champagne, say the change in Canadian leadership could offer a chance to “reset” US-Canadian relations. Trump famously disliked Carney’s successor Trudeau as well as other top Liberals such as Chrystia Freeland.
The strain that Trump’s actions and words have exerted on Ottawa is clear, and it was ultimately a fight over how to deal with his consistent economic belligerence that led then Finance Minister Freeland to break with Trudeau over how to confront it, thus bringing down his government.
Source: DW.com
