Canada’s new Prime Minister, Mark Carney, began his tenure on Friday with a firm rejection of US President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Canada.
Shortly after being sworn in as the country’s 24th prime minister, replacing Justin Trudeau, Carney said that confronting Trump’s tariffs would be a top priority.
Canada “will never, ever, in any way, shape or form, be part of the United States,” he said, while voicing hope his government could one-day “work together” with Washington to advance each country’s interests.
Canada has been rattled by collapsing cross-border relations since Trump returned to power in January, launching a trade war and demanding that Canada surrender its independence to become the 51st US state.
Ottawa has retaliated against Trump’s tariffs, while Canadian public opinion has been outraged as the US president insists the border separating the countries should be erased.
Carney has characterized the Trump administration as the greatest challenge Canada has faced in a generation.
He became prime minister after overwhelmingly winning a Liberal Party vote to replace Trudeau as leader.
But the former central banker, who turns 60 on Sunday, is a political novice who has never won an elected public office.
Carney’s campaign skills may be tested soon with Canada likely headed for a general election in weeks.
He said he will fly to Paris and London next week, part of an effort to reinforce Canada’s alliances overseas as ties with the United States unravel.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Carney on Friday.
– Election upcoming –
Carney was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs before serving as governor of the Bank of Canada during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and also led the Bank of England through the turmoil surrounding the Brexit vote.
He has sought to present himself as purpose-built to lead a country through a trade war with the United States, once Canada’s closest ally but now a country that Carney says Canada can “no longer trust.”
But he may not be prime minister for long.
Polls ahead of the upcoming vote show a tight race against the opposition Conservatives, who have sought to portray Carney as an elitist and out of touch with the struggles of ordinary Canadians.
He has countered that his global experience, including in the private sector, has equipped him to drive the Canadian economy forward as it faces a rupture with its most important trading partner.
“Carney is arriving at a good time. He has emerged as a figure people seem to trust to take on Donald Trump,” University of Winnipeg politics professor Felix Mathieu told AFP.
On the week Trump’s sweeping 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports came into force, Carney visited a steel plant in Hamilton, an industrial city near the US border in the province of Ontario.
Wearing a hard hat and goggles, Carney said he was ready to work out a trade deal with Trump.
But he insisted there must be “respect for Canadian sovereignty” in any negotiation.
Carney has also made clear efforts to distance himself from Trudeau with moves aimed at attracting more centrist voters.
He has said addressing climate change will be a top priority but he is scrapping Trudeau’s “divisive” carbon tax on individuals and families while advancing market-led solutions.
But the cabinet sworn in alongside Carney on Friday keeps much of Trudeau’s team in place, including those working most closely on trade talks with the United States.
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