What you need to know about new Canadian PM Mark Carney

Mark Carney has won the race to succeed Justin Trudeau as Canada's new PM

On January 6, under growing pressure from his own party, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation.

The resignation brought to an end his nine-year term as leader of the Liberal Party.

Trudeau said he would stay in office until his Party can choose a new leader, and that parliament would be prorogued until March 24, 2025.

"This country deserves a real choice in the next election and it has become clear to me that if I'm having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election.

"I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust nationwide competitive process," he said.

Following his announcement, on March 9, the Liberal Party picked Mark Carney as its new leader.

Mark Carney, an economist and political newcomer, was on Friday March 12, sworn in as Canada's new prime minister, and delivered remarks vowing to "never" become a part of the United States.

So, who is Mark Carney?

Mark Joseph Carney was born on March 16, 1965. Both of his parents were teachers.

He was born in Fort Smith, in Canada's Northwest Territories and grew up in Edmonton, Alberta.

Growing up, he played hockey as a goalie for Laurier Heights, went to St. Francis Xavier high school, and won a scholarship to study in the United States.

He earned his degree in economics at Harvard University and later on moved to the United Kingdom where he got his master's degree from.

In 1995, he completed his doctorate in economics from the University of Oxford. 

He is married to British economist and author Diana Fox Carney.

He started his career in finance before joining Canada’s public service.

He is a Canadian economist and politician who has been the prime minister-designate of Canada and leader of the Liberal Party since March 9, 2025.

He previously served as Governor of the Bank of Canada where he was tasked with guiding the country during the 2008 financial crisis.

It is said to be one of the most turbulent economic periods in modern history, protecting jobs and helping ensure that Canada came out stronger.

In 2013, he was hired to lead the Bank of England, stewarding the United Kingdom’s economy through Brexit and the economic and political crises that followed.

This made him the first person who was not a citizen of the UK to govern the institution in its 300-year history.

In 2020, he began serving as the UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance, where he helped rally the world to build stronger economies to fight climate change.

He also served as head of transition investing at the Brookfield Asset Management firm.

Carney, however, stepped down from both of those positions to pursue his Liberal Party leadership bid. 

His new role

Carney took office on Friday amid an ongoing trade war with US President Donald Trump.

"We know that by building together, we can give ourselves far more than anyone else can take away," he said after the ceremony.

Carney has promised to uphold Canada's reciprocal tariffs on specific American goods for as long as Trump maintains 25% universal tariffs on Canadian goods not covered by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) trade deal.

Canada is dependent on trade with the US. Economists say it risks a recession if Trump's tariffs are fully imposed.

Several of Carney's new cabinet members served under Trudeau, and in particular he kept on those who have been working directly with the Trump administration in recent months.