Reactions to Mark Carney’s Liberal leadership victory varied among Canada’s premiers. While most of them congratulated Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s successor, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith did not, and instead urged Carney to take immediate action by calling an election.
Smith said that due to Canada’s ongoing trade war with the United States, Canadians deserve a leader with a public mandate. She urged Carney to call an election immediately to let voters make their voices heard.
Of the almost 151,899 votes cast, Carney received 131,674, or 85.9%, of the votes in the leadership race.
According to Statistics Canada’s population clock, as of Monday morning, 41,644,765 people lived in the country. Therefore, approximately 0.36 per cent of Canada’s population determined who would be the next prime minister with Carney expected to formally take Trudeau’s role soon.
Smith also critiqued Carney’s involvement in Brookfield Asset Management’s decision to move their headquarters from Toronto to New York. Carney had previously misled Canadians by saying he had nothing to do with the move when public information indicated otherwise.
“He doesn’t have the best interest of Canadians at heart,” said Smith. “We need a prime minister who doesn’t have a financial stake in the United States and who will put our hard-working Canadian families first.”
Every other premier who responded to Carney’s victory congratulated him, varying only in the detail of their responses. For example, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe issued only a one-sentence reply congratulating Carney without delving into further detail.
The lengthiest response, however, came from Ontario Premier Doug Ford. He focused on protecting Canada from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats. Ford also said that he hoped that the federal government could become more pro-energy by supporting key projects like unlocking critical minerals in Northern Ontario.
Ford said he was excited for Carney to live up to his commitments made in the leadership campaign, like eliminating the consumer portion of the federal carbon tax. The Ontario premier was also one of two premiers to thank Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his message, alongside Quebec Premier François Legault.
Legault said that he looked forward to standing with Carney to protect Quebec and Canada’s economy from Trump’s tariff threats.
“I am confident that Mr. Carney will be an ally in the fight,” said Legault.
British Columbia Premier David Eby similarly attacked Trump in his congratulatory response to Carney. However, instead of focusing on tariffs, Eby emphasized the need to strengthen Canada’s economy.
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston highlighted a different issue that has dominated headlines recently. He said that he hopes Carney will support a pipeline that brings natural gas and oil to Nova Scotia.
Carney’s stance on pipelines is unclear, as he has made conflicting statements in French and English about his views.
Similar to Moe, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew gave boilerplate congratulatory messages to Carney, without diving into further issues.
Two of three territory premiers also issued statements on Carney’s victory. Both Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai and Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok focused on strengthening Arctic security and sovereignty to bolster Northern Canada.
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, newly-appointed Premier of Prince Edward Island Rob Lantz, and Premier of the Northwest Territories R.J. Simpson have yet to issue a statement on Carney’s victory.
Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney is expected to be sworn in as the country’s leader shortly. Some reports have suggested that a snap election might be called before Parliament returns from being prorogued on Mar. 24. The snap election would be scheduled for Apr. 28 or May 5.