(Nanaimo) He addressed Liberal MPs gathered in Nanaimo Tuesday morning, but he’s not with them. And Mark Carney refuses to say whether he plans to try to join them as an elected official.
The former governor of the Bank of Canada and England dodged all questions about his political ambitions on Tuesday morning.
Does he plan to run for a seat in the next election? “It’s not a question of being someone. It’s rather important for me to do things. To help this process of creating an economic strategy for our country,” he replied in French.
Would he make a good politician? He laughed. “Isn’t that obvious? You don’t think I’m…” he replied without completing his thought, leaving the journalists wanting more.
The renowned economist simply argued that he had answered Justin Trudeau’s call. “If the Prime Minister of Canada asks me to do something, I will serve to the best of my ability,” he said.
At the same microphone, a little earlier, the Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, assured that she did not perceive the arrival of Mark Carney as a disavowal of her economic strategy.
“Absolutely not. Absolutely not, no,” she said at a press briefing on the sidelines of the national Liberal caucus meeting in Nanaimo, B.C.
“Me and Mark have been friends for a very long time,” she continued. “I respect Mark a lot, and I talk to him often.”
Her entry into the scene is “a good thing for the Liberal Party, and for Canadians,” insisted the top money officer.
The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, also believes that this does not discredit his colleague Freeland.
“It can bring new ideas. You know, we consult a lot of economists,” he said.