Canada’s newly elected Prime Minister, Mark Carney, is the only central bank governor to have received an “A” grade from Global Finance magazine for his tenure in two different countries.
The Liberal Party of Canada pulled off a stunning upset in the national election. By choosing Mark Carney—the former governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England—as its new leader, the party overcame a 25-point polling deficit under a battered Justin Trudeau to defeat Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party and secure a fresh fourth parliamentary mandate—an unprecedented feat in Canadian politics. Carney and his party are expected to win most of the 343 seats in Parliament, though they will likely fall short of an outright majority (at the time of publication, the Liberals were leading with 169 seats).
Carney earned high marks as a central banker during both the global financial crisis and Brexit. Global Finance magazine awarded him an “A” grade in its annual Central Banker Report Cards in 2012 during his tenure in Canada, and again in 2016 in the UK, along with two “A-minus” grades in 2018 and 2019. He led the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020. Unlike Poilievre, Carney has never held elected office and is, in many ways, a newcomer to frontline politics.
The Canada Mark Carney will lead is a very different one than any of his predecessors have in recent memory. With Donald Trump back in office, Canada has united against the imposition of a trade war by the US with tariffs that threaten economic stability, in areas such as autos, lumber and aluminum, as well as a president who has stated he would like to erase the border and make Canada the 51st state. Canadians have been shunning American products and cancelling vacations to the US in protest. In many respects, Trump’s policies, which where a major talking point of all candidates during the run up to the election, were the biggest influence in putting Carney in office.
When Parliament resumes, Carney has promised to implement an agenda that will fight an economic war with its biggest trading partner and oldest ally. The new prime minister has promised to sit down with President Trump and reconvene a conversation on trade they started when Carney took over from Trudeau after he was made head of the Liberal Party in early March. Also, a middle-class tax cut has been promised that he says will save two-income families up to C$825 ($594) per year.
Because of a massive housing shortage in the country, the Liberals have promised to create a “Build Canada Homes” policy that would double the speed of construction to 500,000 homes per year and would invest C$35 billion for prefabricated home builders and low-cost financing capital for builders. In other areas often difficult to navigate in Canada, Carney has promised to look at reducing interprovincial trade barriers as well as strengthening the country’s ability to produce and export energy.
Carney’s previous roles and international experience make him a known quantity to leaders overseas. After his victory, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X, formerly Twitter, “The bond between Europe and Canada is strong — and growing stronger. I look forward to working closely together, both bilaterally and within the G7. We’ll defend our shared democratic values, promote multilateralism, and champion free and fair trade.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement that the connections between Carney and the U.K., stemming from his time as governor of the Bank of England, are extremely important. “With your leadership, and personal ties to the U.K., I know the relationship between our two countries will continue to grow,” Starmer added.
Those ties will become even more important as Canada pivots from a north-south economic orientation toward stronger ties with Europe. Carney’s first trips as Liberal Party leader in March were to Paris and London, where he told French President Emmanuel Macron that Canada was the “most European of non-European countries.” With his leadership secure and the election behind him, Carney will face his first international test as prime minister in June, when he hosts the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta.
— Read about Mark Carney’s grading as UK bank governor in Global Finance’s Central Banker Report Card in 2016.
— Read about Mark Carney’s grading as Canada bank governor in Global Finance’s Central Banker Report Card in 2012.