Mark Carney has suddenly been everywhere for the past few weeks. The former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England increases his public interventions and speaks out on political issues, like someone preparing to enter the arena. The one whose name is on everyone’s lips in Ottawa hardly hides his interest in the position currently occupied by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He openly criticizes the latter’s decision to suspend its carbon tax on fuel oil. He also attacks the Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, as if he was warming up for a possible election campaign.
As incisive towards Mr. Carney as when he chaired their country’s central bank, the British media did not fail to comment on his speech last month before the congress of the British Labor Party. It is indeed unusual to see a former governor – appointed to this key position in 2013 by a conservative prime minister in addition – openly display his support for a political party. But Mr. Carney’s plea in favor of Rachel Reeves, tipped to become chancellor of the exchequer (the equivalent of the Minister of Finance in Canada) in a future Labor government, was also intended to allow her to show her colors progressives to Canadian liberals.
Mark Carney attended two climate conferences in Ottawa this week, where he shared his ideas on the energy transition. Appointed UN special envoy for climate finance after leaving the Bank of England in 2020, Mr Carney speaks to financial institutions around the world in a bid to convince them to move away from financing fossil fuels . He refused to support Mr. Trudeau’s decision to put an end to his carbon tax on fuel oil in order to give some relief to low-income households, especially in the Atlantic provinces, already struggling with the rising cost of living.
“I would have looked for other ways to provide this support than the chosen route [par le gouvernement Trudeau] “, said Mr. Carney. In doing so, he seemed to disavow the Prime Minister at the very moment when he needed support. The opposition and the media did not hold back from criticizing this decision, perceived as highly political.
In an interview given to Globe and Mail, Mr. Carney said he had not ruled out the possibility of running in the next Liberal leadership race. There were several ways for him to answer the question that all the journalists in Ottawa wanted to ask him this week. He chose the way most likely to fuel rumors of an internal campaign within the Liberal Party of Canada (PLC) and to convince Mr. Trudeau to leave before the next election.
If that wasn’t enough, Jean Chrétien’s former chief of staff and current senator Percy Downe openly called for the appointment of a new Liberal leader who would bring the party back to the center of the political spectrum before the next election . “The opportunity for a Poilievre government was created by a lack of fiscal responsibility within the Trudeau government, and the damage to our economy is now showing in the polls,” he wrote in an article in the National Newswatch, while asserting that many liberals have abandoned the party due to the lack of economic rigor and competence of the current government. According to Mr. Downe, a new leader from the Liberal caucus could save the day, if not at least the honor of the party, during the next election.
However, it is difficult to see how one of Mr. Trudeau’s current ministers could embody the change that Mr. Downe says he wants. The Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, is the very author of this government’s spending budgets. His colleague at Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, is more associated with Justin Trudeau than all the other ministers combined. The President of the Treasury Board, Anita Anand, and the Minister of Innovation, François-Philippe Champagne, have both acquired a certain independence from their boss, but they cannot dissociate themselves from him. so easily.
Mr. Carney’s knowledge and experience in economics and business is undeniable. They are also far superior to those of any other aspiring Liberal leader. This does not, however, make him an essential choice to replace Mr. Trudeau. He has never been elected to any position. Some Liberals fear a repeat of the years when Michael Ignatieff took over as leader before leading the party to a historic defeat in 2011.
Perceived as hostile to the oil industry, Mark Carney cannot calm the stormy relations between Ottawa and Alberta. He also doesn’t have the charisma that allowed Justin Trudeau to save his party in 2015.
However, the PLC now needs a new savior and Mr. Carney seems to be chomping at the bit more and more badly.
Based in Montreal, Konrad Yakabuski is a columnist at Globe and Mail.