Mark Carney to succeed Trudeau as Canadian Prime Minister and party leader

(Patria) - Former Central Bank Governor Mark Carney won the race for the leader of Canada's ruling Liberal Party and will succeed Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister, Reuters reported.

Carney will take power at a turbulent time in Canada, which is in the midst of a trade war with
its ally the United States and must soon hold general elections.

Carney (59) defeated former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who took second place in the election, in which just over 150,000 party members voted.

Trudeau announced in January that he would step down after more than nine years in power as his approval rating plummeted, forcing the ruling Liberal Party to hold snap elections for his replacement.

Carney, a political newcomer, argued that he was best positioned to revive the party and oversee
trade negotiations with US President Donald Trump, who is threatening further tariffs that could cripple Canada's export-dependent economy.

Carney was the favorite, with the most support from party members and the most money raised among the four candidates in the election held on Sunday.

Carney's victory marks the first time a Canadian Prime Minister has been an outsider with no real political background. He said his experience as the first person to serve as governor of two G7 central banks, Canada and England, meant he was the best candidate to confront Trump.

During the campaign, Carney said he supported "dollar for dollar" retaliatory tariffs against
the United States and a coordinated strategy to boost investment. He repeatedly said that Canada's economic growth under Trudeau had not been good enough.