Who is Mark Carney, and why is Justin Trudeau courting him?

The sanction connected nan lips of politicos, reporters and Liberal insiders successful Ottawa complete nan past fewer weeks does not clasp a position successful authorities and has ne'er moreover tally for a spot successful Parliament: Mark Carney.

But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed to reporters past week that he’s been speaking to Carney “for years” astir joining national politics.

“I deliberation he would beryllium an outstanding summation astatine a clip erstwhile Canadians request bully group to measurement up successful politics,” Trudeau said past week.

Reports that Carney is being courted to subordinate nan Liberals successful immoderate manner travel arsenic nan incumbent authorities is flagging successful nan polls.

So who is Carney, and what could his beingness connection for nan struggling Liberals? Here’s what to know.

Born successful Fort Smith, N.W.T., and raised successful Edmonton, Carney earned an undergraduate economics grade from Harvard University and followed that up pinch master’s and doctoral degrees from Oxford University. He’s a well-known sanction successful world financial circles.

Carney presently serves arsenic chair of Bloomberg LP and nan president and caput of modulation investing astatine Toronto-based replacement finance patient Brookfield Asset Management. Early successful his career, he besides worked astatine Goldman Sachs for 13 years.

The economist and banker lends his expertise to financial tech firms for illustration Stripe, wherever he serves arsenic a committee director, arsenic good arsenic to biology initiatives. Carney is nan United Nations’ typical envoy for ambiance action and finance.

He’s besides a marathon runner and lucky player.

But astir Canadians were first introduced to Carney arsenic nan politician of nan Bank of Canada. He was appointed by Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper and replaced David Dodge successful nan domiciled successful 2008 — correct earlier nan world financial crisis.

Carney received wide acclaim for steering Canadian monetary argumentation and nan wider system done nan financial firestorm. That capacity led him to return connected nan aforesaid domiciled astatine nan Bank of England from 2013 to 2020, becoming nan first non-Brit to lead nan institution.

While overmuch of his profession has been successful nan backstage assemblage and cardinal banking, Carney did person a three-year stint successful Canada’s Department of Finance, serving arsenic lawman to 2 finance ministers during his tenure: Liberal Ralph Goodale and Conservative Jim Flaherty.

In 2021, Carney announced that he was a protagonist of nan Liberal Party but did not mention a governmental future.

“To me, humility intends recognizing nan awesome bully luck that I’ve had increasing up and nan work of work that comes pinch that,” Carney said astatine nan Liberal convention, held virtually that year.

“And that’s why I’ll do immoderate I tin to support nan Liberal Party successful our efforts to build a amended early for Canadians.”

The Globe and Mail reported Wednesday that Trudeau met pinch Carney complete nan play to impulse him to subordinate nan government.

Trudeau was not circumstantial astir what domiciled he’d for illustration to spot Carney return connected wrong his government. Previous reporting from nan Globe and the Toronto Star person suggested that Carney is being considered for nan domiciled of finance minister, a position presently held by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.

In that aforesaid property convention wherever Trudeau was asked astir Carney joining nan team, he besides reaffirmed his “full confidence” successful Freeland contempt reports successful nan Globe of “tension” betwixt nan premier minister’s agency and nan finance minister. He did not perpetrate to whether Freeland would enactment successful nan finance curate chair but described her arsenic a “close friend and ally.”

For her part, Freeland said earlier this week that she has had aggregate conversations pinch Trudeau lately and said she has nan “confidence” she needs to do her job.

The Globe and Mail reported that Carney criticized nan latest Liberal budget — nan 4th tabled by Freeland — arguing it was not focused capable connected growth.

Asked astir Carney, Freeland noted successful nan aforesaid property convention that she is alternatively acquainted pinch her chap Albertan: Carney is nan godfather of her son, she said, and they talk often.

Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Global Affairs, tells Global News that adding personification pinch Carney’s “financial acumen” makes consciousness for nan Liberals fixed nan prominence of nan economical record pinch voters.

The extremity successful adding Carney to nan Liberal squad would beryllium to alteration Canadians’ impressions of nan “competence of nan authorities connected nan economy,” he says.

“I deliberation what they’re trying to do is break a very vicious circle that they’re successful by doing this.”

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The Trudeau authorities was rattled by a byelection nonaccomplishment precocious past period successful Toronto—St. Paul’s, a riding that was believed to beryllium a safe spot successful a Liberal stronghold.

Support for nan premier curate himself is astatine “rock bottom,” Ipsos polling conducted exclusively for Global News successful June showed. Nearly 7 successful 10 respondents (68 per cent) said they want Trudeau to measurement down, nan study showed, a telephone echoed by at slightest 1 Liberal MP and a erstwhile furniture minister.

Asked whether Carney’s beingness could inject nan Liberals pinch a boost successful nan polls, Bricker says specified a feat hasn’t been seen successful nan modern governmental era.

“So it would beryllium unprecedented. But past again, we’re successful unprecedented times,” he says.

There were cases successful past generations of bringing successful a caller sound astatine nan correct clip to move astir governmental fortunes. Bricker offers Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who joined Lester B. Pearson’s authorities successful 1965 and helped nan Liberals push backmost against nan Quebec separatist movement, arsenic 1 specified example.

If location are concerns that Freeland is not an “effective communicator” connected nan economical file, bringing successful Carney could thief to “break nan current, very antagonistic narrative,” Bricker says.

But it remains to beryllium seen whether Carney arsenic a governmental sound will beryllium capable to scope anyone beyond nan boardroom, he adds. At nan look of it, Carney does not look to person nan “same benignant of buzz” that nan elder Trudeau brought to government.

“Maybe he will. Maybe he’ll impressment everybody. Maybe he has a level of charisma and expertise to link pinch individual voters,” Bricker says.

But nan problem pinch bringing successful immoderate caller sound aliases shuffling furniture positions astir is that elector attitudes person soured chiefly connected Trudeau, not those surrounding him, Bricker notes.

“Maybe it will person immoderate effect, but let’s beryllium clear here: When Canadians opportunity they’re upset pinch nan government, their level of upset is very personally directed, and it’s directed astatine nan premier curate himself,” he says.

Beyond a imaginable domiciled arsenic finance minister, Carney has antecedently been rumoured arsenic a imaginable leader of nan Liberal Party, which has regularly earned him pre-emptive attacks from nan charismatic Opposition. Conservatives person gone arsenic acold arsenic to telephone retired Carney arsenic “future Liberal leader” successful mobility play jabs astatine nan sitting premier minister.

Bricker notes that nan precedent is location for specified an ascension: Trudeau Sr. succeeded Pearson soon aft joining caucus and nan Liberals surged to a mostly authorities successful nan pursuing election.

As for Freeland, a rumoured shuffle retired of nan finance portfolio would not needfully quash her ain electoral prospects, Bricker argues.

Twice earlier successful Liberal history a finance curate fixed nan footwear has returned to lead nan party: John Turner successful 1984 and Paul Martin successful 2003. Turner went connected to suffer 2 elections successful 1984 and 1988, while Martin secured a number authorities successful 2004 earlier losing retired to Harper’s Conservatives successful 2006.

“Going from being pushed retired by nan premier curate arsenic curate of finance, really for astatine slightest 2 leaders of nan Liberal Party, has proven a way for success,” Bricker says.

— pinch files from Global News’s Touria Izri