Mark Carney sworn in as Canada’s PM after Trudeau steps down

By Olivia Kemp and Max Saltman, CNN

(CNN) — Mark Carney has been sworn in as Canada’s prime minister, succeeding Justin Trudeau, as the country faces questions about its sovereignty from US President Donald Trump and a trade war with Canada’s largest trading partner, the United States.

Carney, a former central banker who has never held public office in Canada, is stepping in to confront numerous challenges facing the country, including leading the Liberal Party into an election to be held later this year.

In a press conference after his swearing in, Carney addressed Canada’s growing tensions with its southern neighbor head-on, saying: “We will never, ever, in any way, shape or form, be part of the United States. America is not Canada.”

Since taking office earlier this year, Trump has repeatedly suggested that Canada become the 51st US state.

Carney also said that he currently does not have plans to visit the US, though he said he will have “discussions” with the leaders of the United Kingdom and France.

Speaking to the country’s most immediate crises, Carney said that his two biggest priorities are “protecting Canadian workers and their families in the face of unjustified foreign trade actions, and second, growing this great country by putting more money in Canadians’ pockets, by ensuring that government spends less so Canada can invest more by building millions of homes.”

Carney, a former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, was elected Liberal Party leader in a landslide on March 9. During his decades-long career in finance, Carney steered governments through major global crises and periods of upheaval — experience he’s hoping to now leverage.

The Liberals have been courting Carney for more than a decade, and he advised Trudeau on Canada’s economic recovery from Covid-19. But the banker-turned-politician did not make his official entrance until Trudeau announced his resignation in January. All of his competitors were sitting politicians: Carney is in the unusual situation of becoming Canada’s prime minister without holding a seat in parliament.

Carney, who must call an election before October 20, joked that Canadians “should expect to go to the polls before November” but did not give a date for when the election might be.

A new cabinet

Ministers of Carney’s new cabinet, including Chrystia Freeland and Dominic LeBlanc, also took their oaths of office on Thursday in English and French in Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Ontario.

Carney and his cabinet swore allegiance to King Charles III in their oaths. Canada, like some other Commonwealth countries, recognizes the monarch as its head of state.

The first to be sworn in was LeBlanc as Minister for Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs. LeBlanc, who served as Minister of Finance in former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, has been a key interlocutor in the ongoing trade dispute with the United States, and traveled to Washington yesterday for a meeting with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

François-Phillippe Champagne, who succeeded LeBlanc as Minister of Finance, also attended yesterday’s meeting in Washington.

Other cabinet members will stay on in their roles they held in Trudeau’s cabinet, such as Mélanie Joly, who will be sworn in later as foreign minister. Freeland – a former deputy prime minister who resigned from Trudeau’s cabinet and lost the Liberal Party leader’s race to Carney – joins Carney’s cabinet as minister of transport and internal trade.

“This team is built for immediate action and focused on protecting Canadian workers, supporting their families, and growing this great country,” Carney said of his new cabinet in a press release posted on the prime minister’s office website.

“We are changing how things work, so our government can deliver to Canadians faster – and we have an experienced team that is made to meet the moment we are in. Our government is united and strong, and we are getting right to work,” he added.

The transfer of power came after outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stepped down earlier Friday, concluding nearly a decade in power. The outgoing Trudeau had announced his resignation in January as polls showed his Liberal Party would likely face defeat in an upcoming election. But the party’s fortunes have since improved amid growing Canadian antipathy toward Trump and his policies.

In a farewell message posted on X on Friday, Trudeau said: “Thank you, Canada – for trusting in me, for challenging me, and for granting me the privilege to serve the best country, and the best people, on earth.”

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