Mark Carney: Canada’s Next Prime Minister?

Former central banker Mark Carney will become Canada’s next prime minister after a Liberal Party leadership vote in a landslide.

Carney is 59. He was born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, on March 16, 1965, and raised in Edmonton, Alberta.

Having led the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and later the Bank of England until 2020, Carney played a crucial role in helping Canada navigate the repercussions of the 2008 financial crisis. His appointment marked a historic moment as he became the first non-British individual to head the Bank of England since its establishment in 1694.

In 2020, he began serving as the United Nations’ special envoy for climate action and finance.

With a background as a former executive at Goldman Sachs, Carney accumulated 13 years of experience working across major cities like London, Tokyo, New York, and Toronto before assuming the role of deputy governor at the Bank of Canada in 2003. Notably, he lacks any involvement in the realm of politics.

Carney’s educational credentials include a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University acquired in 1988, along with master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from Oxford University. Beyond academics, he shares a common Canadian interest in ice hockey and even contributed as a backup goalie during his time at Harvard.

Carney has Canadian, U.K. and Irish citizenship. He has moved to eventually have solely Canadian citizenship, which is not required by law but seen as politically wise.

His wife Diana is British-born and he has four daughters.

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%.