Carney sworn in as Canada’s prime minister, says he can work with Trump

OTTAWA – Former central banker Mark Carney was sworn in as Prime Minister of Canada on March 14 and immediately said he could work with US President Donald Trump, who is promising tariffs that could devastate the Canadian economy.

He

succeeds Mr Justin Trudeau,

who had a combative and often cold relationship with Mr Trump.

Mr Carney, 59, made clear his approach would be different.

“We respect President Trump – President Trump has put some very important issues at the top of his agenda. We understand his agenda,” he told reporters after being sworn in.

He noted that he had worked with Mr Trump at international meetings.

“In many respects, part of my experience overlaps with that of the President – we’re both looking out for our countries. But he knows, and I know from long experience, that we can find mutual solutions that win for both,” he added.

Mr Carney, who said he had no immediate plans to talk to Mr Trump, also made clear that the

Trump administration’s talk of annexing Canada

is “crazy”.

He reshaped his 24-person Cabinet with a view to

dealing with Washington,

cutting almost half the ministerial positions that he inherited from Mr Trudeau.

Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc is moving to the international trade portfolio and will be replaced by current Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. Foreign Minister Melanie Joly stays in her post.

The moment capped

a momentous rise

for Mr Carney, who becomes the first Canadian prime minister without any serious political experience.

He said he would visit London and Paris next week. Canada has sought to shore up alliances in Europe as its relations with the US sink to unprecedented lows.

Mr Carney

crushed his rivals on March 9

in a race to become leader of the ruling Liberal Party. He replaces Mr Trudeau, who spent more than nine years in office.

Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, whose

shock resignation in December 2024

triggered a crisis that helped push out Mr Trudeau, becomes transport minister.

Mr Carney, a former head of both the Bank of Canada and Bank of England, successfully argued that his position as an outsider with

a history of tackling crises

meant he is the best person to take on Mr Trump, who has repeatedly talked about annexing Canada.

“We will never, ever in any way, shape or form, be part of the United States,” said Mr Carney.

The Cabinet will likely not be in office for long, since Liberal insiders said Mr Carney will call a snap election within the next two weeks. If he changes his mind, opposition parties said they will unite to bring down the minority Liberal government in a confidence vote at the end of March.

Once the election is called, Mr Carney will be very limited in what he can do politically because convention dictates he cannot make major decisions when running for office.

Opinion polls currently suggest it will be a close race with the official opposition Conservatives, with neither party gaining enough seats for a majority government.

Until recently, the Conservatives enjoyed a double-digit lead over the Liberals in opinion polls, largely due to unhappiness over a spike in living costs and a housing crisis.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said 100 per cent of Mr Carney’s ministers “were in Trudeau’s caucus – helping hike carbon taxes and double the debt, housing costs and food bank line-ups”, in a post on X. “A Liberal is a Liberal is a Liberal.” REUTERS