Mark Carney has been officially sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister. Carney took the oath of office in a ceremony at Rideau Hall.
The Canadian Press
Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s 24th Prime Minister on Friday, along with a leaner team of cabinet ministers who will try to steer the country through a trade war, annexation threats from U.S. President Donald Trump and an expected federal election.
“It is a solemn duty to serve as Prime Minister at this time of great consequence,” Mr. Carney told a news conference after the ceremony at Rideau Hall.
The 59-year-old two-time central banker is the first Prime Minister to have never held elected office and replaces Justin Trudeau, who was in power for more than nine years. Mr. Carney won the Liberal leadership by a landslide last Sunday and is widely expected to trigger an election within the week.
The first decision taken by his new cabinet was to set the consumer carbon price to zero. He had promised to eliminate the tax during the leadership race. Canadians who have been getting a rebate on the carbon levy will get one final payment for the next quarter in April, Mr. Carney said. British Columbia Premier David Eby said his government will repeal the province’s carbon tax after the legislature resumes sitting in April, in response to the federal move.
Polls show the Carney-led government in a dead heat with Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives, who had made the pledge to “axe the tax” a centrepiece of their campaign pitch to Canadians. A few months ago, the Liberal government faced electoral defeat until Mr. Trudeau bowed out and Mr. Trump launched an economic war against Canada and repeatedly talked about annexing the country.
Mr. Carney has promised to move the Liberals back to the political centre and has played up his role in navigating Canada through the 2008 financial crisis as head of the Bank of Canada and the first non-citizen to run the Bank of England, where he managed the economic impacts of Britain’s exit from the European Union.
He promised to steer Canada through the trade war with the U.S. and to grow the economy by tearing down international trade barriers, getting oil and natural gas to global markets, and diversifying trade.
He signalled a less confrontational approach in dealing with Mr. Trump, saying he respects the President for wanting to help American workers and to stop the scourge of fentanyl. Both leaders need to find avenues of co-operation to end the trade war, he said.
The two have a lot in common, Mr. Carney said. He and Mr. Trump have business experience, including in real estate, and they engaged at the G20 in Mr. Trump’s first term when Mr. Carney headed the Bank of England, the Prime Minister said.
“The President is a successful businessperson and dealmaker. We are his largest client in so many industries,” he said. “Clients expect respect and working together in a proper commercial way.”
Mr. Carney said he had no immediate plans to visit the White House but hopes to talk soon with the President.
Asked about the Trump’s administration talk of annexing Canada, he said: “It’s crazy. That’s all you can say.”
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On Wednesday, Mr. Trump imposed 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel. He is also threatening to hit Canada with tariffs of 25 per cent on most Canadian imports and 10 per cent on energy, critical minerals and potash on April 2.
The new Prime Minister heads to Paris and London early next week to meet French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to talk about President Trump’s America First agenda, Ukraine and closer co-operation in national security issues.
But when asked whether he’s seeking their support to safeguard Canada’s sovereignty, Mr. Carney said he doesn’t need to hear it.
“We’re masters in our home,” he said. “We’re in charge.”
Mark Carney is sworn in as prime minister during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on March 14.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Mr. Carney declined to divulge the value of the assets that he recently put into a blind trust, which will be administered by an independent third party. But he took a jab at Mr. Poilievre, who hasn’t spent time in the private sector.
“I would like to reassure you that the assets I have were earned through employment income as a public servant and employment in the private sector. I would note that employment in the private sector is something the Leader of the Opposition has never experienced,” he said.
A new Cabinet of 13 men and 11 women was sworn in, smaller than Mr. Trudeau’s 37-member team. François-Philippe Champagne was promoted from Innovation Minister to Finance, taking over from Dominic LeBlanc, who becomes Minister of International Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs, with special responsibility for U.S. affairs. Both men will work together on trade negotiations with the Trump administration, along with Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, who adds International Development to her duties.
David McGuinty stays at Public Safety Minister and will play a key role with the trio of ministers handling Canada-U.S. relations and the border crackdown on fentanyl smuggling and illegal immigration.
Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland returns to cabinet as Transport Minister, a demotion from her roles as deputy prime minister and finance minister. Former house leader Karina Gould, who came in a distant third in the leadership race, was not invited to sit in the cabinet.
Anita Anand, who had planned to leave politics but changed her mind after Mr. Carney entered the leadership race, was elevated from Transport to the Department of Innovation, a major economic portfolio.
Steven Guilbeault, who the Conservatives had targeted over the consumer carbon levy, lost the Environment portfolio but stays in cabinet with a newly styled portfolio of Canadian Culture and Identity, as well as Parks Canada. He’ll also serve as the Quebec lieutenant. He was replaced at Environment by Terry Duguid, while Rachel Bendayan from Montreal is the new Immigration Minister. She replaces Marc Miller, who was shunted from cabinet altogether along with several other long-time Trudeau ministers.
Some of the new faces in cabinet are Nova Scotia MP Kody Blois, who takes over Agriculture; and Toronto MP Ali Ehsassi, who will head Public Services and Procurement. Kamal Khera moves from the junior portfolio of Diversity to Health.
Gary Anandasangaree retains Indigenous Affairs but adds Justice and Attorney-General to his responsibilities. Defence Minister Bill Blair, Treasury Board President Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, Employment Minister Steven MacKinnon and Housing Minister Nate Erskine-Smith kept their old jobs.
Mr. Poilievre said that with most ministers having sat in Mr. Trudeau’s cabinet, the only way Canadians will get the change they deserve is to vote the Liberals out the next election.
“That is the choice: More of the same with a fourth Liberal term, or ‘Canada first’ change for the Canadian people,” he said, referencing his campaign slogan.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Mr. Carney’s decision not to name ministers for specific portfolios such as diversity and inclusion or people with disabilities sends a message to progressive Canadians.
“It’s certainly showing Canadians that a Mark Carney government is a race to the right between Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre, and it’s a race where workers lose. It’s a race where people lose,” Mr. Singh said.
Meanwhile, former prime minister Jean Chrétien, who was invited to the swearing in, said he has confidence in Mr. Carney’s ability to deal with the U.S. trade war and Mr. Trump – but added it won’t be easy.
“We have never seen someone change their mind every five minutes as President of the United States,” Mr. Chrétien told reporters. “He will do the best that he can.”
With reports from Emily Haws and The Canadian Press
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