Canada’s Liberal Party has elected Mark Carney as its leader, and he is set to replace Justin Trudeau as the Prime Minister of Canda, as reported by CTV News.
Carney secured a win in the first ballot in a race that was triggered after Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced his intention to step down in early January after a mounting caucus revolt and the resignation of Chrystia Freeland from the cabinet.
After remaining as the frontrunner in the leadership race for the past two months, the former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor Carney will become Canada’s next PM within days, according to CTV News report.
Carney defeated former cabinet minister Karina Gould, former finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, and Businessman and former Liberal MP Frank Baylis. All four contenders entered the room to much fanfare and addressed the crowd, thanking supporters for injecting energy into the party.
As many as 151,899 party loyalists cast a ballot in this race, and the majority decided–depending on a ranked-ballot system that saw each riding receive equal weighting–that Carney was who they wanted to see become Canada’s PM. He will also carry the party’s banner in the likely imminent federal election, which polls suggest to be an increasingly narrowing race with the Conservatives, according to CTV News report.
Mark Carney has never held elected office and is not a member of Parliament. It is not yet known in which riding Carney will run. However, he has announced that he will campaign for a seat in the House of Commons in the next election.
Earlier, Justin Trudeau highlighted the ‘achievements’ of the Liberal Party over the past decade while looking towards the future, hours ahead of the announcement of his successor as the leader of his party, as reported by CBC News.
In his speech at the Liberal Leadership Convention, Trudeau said, “I am damn proud of what we’ve done over these past 10 years for the middle class and the people working hard to join it.”
As the Liberal Party enters a new era, Trudeau told the crowd that “there is a responsibility to ensure that Canada stays the best country on Earth! In one of his last speeches as Liberal leader and Canada’s PM, he urged his supporters to keep fighting for Canada as hard as they can.
In one of his last speeches as Canada’s PM and Liberal Party leader, Trudeau said, “Democracy is not a given. Freedom is not a given. Even Canada is not a given.” He said, “None of those happened by accident. None of them will continue without effort.”
He also recalled how Canada’s former PM, Lester B Pearson, 60 years back, raised the Canadian flag on Parliament Hill. He said, “Sixty years later, there are still so many more chapters to write. And I can tell you the world is looking to see what Canadians will do,” CBC News reported.
Trudeau recalled that the Liberal Party was a distant third when he took over as leader in 2013. He said, “It’s when you try to count us out that we Liberals show our true mettle.” He also mentioned two people in particular: Adam Scotti (his longtime photographer) and Katie Telford (his longtime chief of staff). Scotti and Telford have remained with Trudeau for over 10 years. (ANI)
