Former central banker Mark Carney won the race to become the leader of Canada's ruling Liberal Party and will succeed Justin Trudeau as prime minister, official results showed on Sunday. Carney will take over at a tumultuous time in Canada, which is in the midst of a trade war with longtime ally the United States under President Donald Trump and must hold a general election soon. Carney, 59, took 86% of votes cast to beat former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland in a contest in which just under 152,000 party members voted.
Although he had Canadian, U.K. and Irish citizenship, the banker-turned-politician gave up all but Canadian citizenship, which is not required by law but seen as politically wise. Here are five things you would like to know about Canada's next Prime Minister amidst the tariffs and "53rd state" claims by the US President:
**1\. Personal life:** Born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, on March 16, 1965, Mark Carney was raised in Edmonton, Alberta. In 2020, he began serving as the United Nations' special envoy for climate action and finance.
He is married to British-born Diana and the couple has four daughters.
**2\. Career:** Carney ran the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020. After helping Canada manage the worst impacts of the 2008 financial crisis, he was recruited to become the first non-Brit to run the Bank of England since it was founded in 1694. reported the Associated Press.
Carney is a former Goldman Sachs executive. He worked for 13 years in London, Tokyo, New York and Toronto, before being appointed deputy governor of the Bank of Canada in 2003. He has no experience in politics.
**3\. Education:** Carney received a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard University in 1988, and master's and doctoral degrees in economics from Oxford University. Like many Canadians, he played ice hockey, serving as a backup goalie for Harvard.
**4\. Politics:** "There's someone who's trying to weaken our economy," Carney said of Donald Trump, spurring loud boos at the party gathering. "He's attacking Canadian workers, families, and businesses. We can't let him succeed."
"This won't be business as usual," Carney said. "We will have to do things that we haven't imagined before, at speeds we didn't think possible," he added.
**5\. What next?** According to the US news agency, his chances of remaining prime minister for more than a few weeks seem to be improving. In a mid-January poll by Nanos, the Liberals trailed the opposition Conservatives and their leader Pierre Poilievre 47% to 20%. This week the latest poll has Liberals at 34% and the Conservatives at 37%.f the USA?