One of the potential candidates for the job that Justin Trudeau can’t seem to vacate, Mark Carney, the former head of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, appeared on the US late-night TV show The Daily Show with Jon Stewart for a 20-minute interview to talk about Trump, tariffs and the carbon tax, but he avoided answering a direct question about his plans to become Liberal leader.
Carney’s name has only recently appeared in the press, largely due to the efforts of Conservatives who see him as the only dangerous opponent for them. But he has long been one of the most interesting and colorful personalities in Canada.
I know Carney well, not personally, but I worked at the Bank of Canada from 2007-2009 and was responsible for Carney’s project to replace paper money in Canada with plastic. So I've seen Carney in a lot of meetings and I've seen him as a charismatic, smart, and very efficient leader. As the head of the Bank of Canada, I saw him masterfully lead Canada through the 2008 crisis, when Canada was the only developed country whose economy was virtually unscathed by the crisis.
I personally doubt very much that Carney will decide to run for the Liberal Party now that the entire Liberal Party is preparing for an inevitable, crushing defeat in the election. But I would rather the Conservatives lure Carney away from calling him names.
When discussing President-elect Donald Trump's statement that Canada could become the 51st state, Carney and Stewart joked about the relationship between the two countries being like a couple going through a difficult time.
Carney said that Canada being part of the United States was impossible, but added that the countries could be "Friends with Benefits," drawing loud laughter from the audience.
On the topic of Trump's threat to impose tariffs, Carney said Canada should be prepared for a trade war, as it did the last time Trump was in office. When it came to the infamous Carbon Tax, Carney emphasized that a significant portion of Canada's CO2 emissions come from the oil industry, and that this problem needs to be addressed. But he emphasized that the changes are needed for the long term and should not negatively impact Canadians' lives now.
While Carney did not directly say that he would run for Liberal Party leader, he called himself an "outsider" in Canadian politics and deflected the host's attempts to get a specific answer from him. You can watch the interview at the link in the comment section of the video. By the way, write in the comments .
Opposition Conservative Party leader Pierre Polièvre has long tried to portray Carney as one of the architects of the Liberal carbon tax policy, constantly calling him "Carbon Tax Carney." But in an interview, Carney said, "It's important for Canada to address these issues and contribute, but we need to do it in a way that doesn't cost today's Canadians a lot of money."
And I think that even if Carney is a green energy advocate, as a smart person, he probably wouldn't advise the Liberals to introduce a tax in the form it's currently in. The Carbon Tax is not currently solving Canada's air pollution problems. The only effect of this tax is that it will impoverish those who are still working in Canada and will finance handouts to those who don't want to work. Trudeau and his advisers hope that the slackers who receive handouts will vote for the Liberals. But that's not a given, since almost everyone in Canada, rich and poor, is unhappy with the economy today.
The Liberal Party of Canada will elect a new leader on March 9. Ontario MP Chandra Arya and former Montreal MP Frank Baylis are the only ones who have officially joined the race for the post.
On Monday this week, The Canadian Press reported that former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will announce her leadership bid in the coming days.