On March 9, the Liberal Party of Canada elected Mark Carney, the former head of the Bank of Canada and later head of the Bank of England, as the country’s new prime minister. This comes after current prime minister and Liberal Party leader, Justin Trudeau, stepped down in January. 

An election will be held sometime before October at the latest. Some believe the Conservative Party of Canada is likely to win the next election due to Trudeau’s massive unpopularity, but the impact of Trump’s tariffs in strengthening Canadian nationalism has dramatically improved the party’s approval in recent weeks.

Carney’s election comes at a time of heightened tension between Canada and the United States, largely due to a trade war initiated by the U.S. President Donald Trump. However, Carney has not backed down in the face of Trump’s comments about making Canada the 51st U.S. state, among other criticisms, saying “Canada will never… be a part of America in any way”.

Carney won the election in a landslide, receiving almost 86% of the vote compared to his closest competitor, Chrystia Freeland, who received only 8% of the vote.