A MART脥NEZ, HOST:
People gathered in an arena in Canada's capital and heard the results of a vote for the leader of the governing party.
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SACHIT MEHRA: In first place, the next prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney, with 131,674 votes, resulting in...
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Mark Carney won a kind of mini election among Liberal Party members, and his landslide win means he will now replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who's leaving office just as Canada faces a confrontation with the United States.
MART脥NEZ: NPR's international affairs correspondent, Jackie Northam, has been following the story. So a new chapter in Canadian politics. What can you tell us about Mark Carney?
JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE: Well, up until a few months ago, not a lot of Canadians knew who Mark Carney was. He was considered a political outsider. It was only after Justin Trudeau announced that he was stepping aside in January that Carney threw his hat into the ring for the Liberal Party's leadership race. You know, but Carney - who's 59 years old - does have a reputation internationally. He comes from the world of finance and has spent time on Wall Street and was a head of the Bank of England, where he helped navigate the post-Brexit turbulence. And he also headed up the Bank of Canada. So, A, that experience could be critical as he becomes prime minister, both to tackle Canada's economic challenges right now, but certainly to deal with President Trump's trade policies towards Canada, which frankly are seen by many in Canada as economic warfare.
MART脥NEZ: Yeah. Relations between the two have grown contentious since Donald Trump returned to office. So is there any sense of how Carney will approach President Trump and his policies?
NORTHAM: Well, I suspect it'll be a much different dynamic between Carney and Trump than it was with the president and Prime Minister Trudeau. They didn't get along. And in fact, over the past few weeks, relations between the two men were really fraying - you know, Trump calling Trudeau governor and Trudeau calling the president Donald and quoting an editorial saying the tariffs were a very dumb idea. So Carney could represent a fresh start, but he has warned that he would be very tough on Trump, which is something he indicated in his acceptance speech on Sunday.
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MARK CARNEY: We didn't ask for this fight, but Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves. So the Americans - they should make no mistake. In trade, as in hockey, Canada will win.
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NORTHAM: And, A, if President Trump goes ahead with these steep tariffs on Canadian products - and that's expected in April - it could drive Canada's economy into a recession.
MART脥NEZ: And here's the thing. I mean, Carney might not even be prime minister that long. I mean, there are general elections coming up this year. So when are those?
NORTHAM: Well, they need to be held by the end of October. You know, the Liberals have bounced back in a big way in the polls, thanks largely to Trump, and his treatment of Canada has created this wave of enthusiasm, you know, both for the Liberal Party, you know, and just sort of nationalism. And Carney could grab onto that enthusiasm and call an election soon. The opposition could also launch a nonconfidence vote when Parliament resumes later this month. That, too, could trigger an early election. But you know, as it stands right now, once Carney is sworn in as Canada's new prime minister - and that could happen later this week - he'll lead the country.
MART脥NEZ: All right. That's NPR's international affairs correspondent, Jackie Northam. Jackie, thanks.
NORTHAM: Thanks very much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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