Mark Carney has been named as the new leader of Canada’s ruling Liberal Party, and already has a list of policies he plans to implement during his tenure.
On Sunday, Carney won by a landslide, winning nearly 86 per cent of votes cast and beat out former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland for the position. He will succeed Justin Trudeau as prime minister, though it has not been declared when he will be officially sworn into office.
Carney will take the reins during a tense time in Canada, which is currently in the midst of a trade war with longtime ally the United States under President Donald Trump.
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In Carney’s victory speech, he referred to the U.S. as a country “we can no longer trust,” and defended the Liberals’ decision to enforce retaliatory tariffs.
“My government will keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us respect,” Carney said as he addressed his party members on Sunday.
“And until they can join us in making credible and reliable commitments to free and fair trade,” he added, while promising that all proceeds from the tariffs will be used to protect Canadian workers.
He also assured that he’s committed to maintaining Canada’s sovereignty and fighting to end the trade war.
“America is not Canada, and Canada will never ever be a part of America in any shape or form,” he said.
“We didn’t ask for this fight, but Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves. So, Americans should make no mistake. In trade as in hockey, Canada will win.”
The prime minister-designate already has goals in place to spearhead Canada’s “economic destiny,” which includes better trade policies, more housing, sustainable climate investments, and more money into Canadians’ pockets.
Carney says his first order of business once in office is to axe the “divisive” consumer carbon tax, an initiative he says would lower costs and help grow the economy. In this plan, consumers and small businesses would no longer pay a charge on fuels, such as gasoline, natural gas, diesel, home heating oil, etc.
He also says he’ll create a system of incentives to reward Canadians for making greener choices, such as purchasing an energy-efficient appliance, electric vehicle, or improved home insulation.
“We will stop the hike in the capital gains tax because we think builders should be incentivized for taking risks, and rewarded when they succeed,” he said.
“Canada needs more of this type of change… change that builds the strongest economy in the G7.”
The prime minister-designate also highlighted the importance of the nation working together, stressing unification instead of the division of Canada. Carney says an immediate order would be to convene a First Ministers’ meeting to work with provinces and territories to identify national investment priorities to be fast-tracked, and promises to remove interprovincial trade barriers so Canadians can trade freely.
“In Canada we are stronger when we’re united,” he said.
He also outlined plans to address the housing crisis by increasing availability and affordability, including doubling the pace of new housing construction over ten years.
According to his platform available online, Canada has been building an average of roughly 227,000 homes per year over the past decade, but Carney says the effort should be doubled so that four million units would be built over the next several years. His government also would eliminate the GST for first-time homebuyers on homes under $1 million, to help ease the financial burden on young Canadians entering the housing market.
