Liberal Leader Mark Carney will be sworn in as Canada’s next prime minister on Friday.
Carney will be replacing outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his role after being selected by the Liberals to lead the party into the next election.
Governor General Mary Simon’s office announced that she will be inviting Carney to Rideau Hall to conduct the swearing-in ceremony of the new prime minister and his cabinet.
Friday will mark the end of Trudeau’s time as prime minister, ending his tenure after over nine years in office.
On Sunday, Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England, won the Liberal leadership race in a landslide, receiving 85.9 per cent of the vote while runner-up Chrystia Freeland only garnered eight per cent. A total of 131,674 ballots were cast for Carney.
On Monday, Carney and Trudeau led the Liberal caucus meeting where he reportedly told Grit MPs that the transition would be “seamless” and “quick.”
Liberal MP Marco Mendicino–a cabinet minister in the Trudeau government from 2019 to 2023–was appointed as Carney’s chief of staff while much of Trudeau’s core team is reportedly being moved out, including longtime chief of staff Katie Telford.
Carney will become the first prime minister since Paul Martin to assume office outside of a general election and the first ever to have never been elected to any public office.
Trudeau’s prorogation of Parliament is set to end on Mar. 24. However, the Globe and Mail reported that Carney intends to dissolve Parliament soon after being sworn in and is considering scheduling the election for either Apr. 28 or May 5.
Carney will enter office at a time of rapidly deteriorating relations with the United States, as President Donald Trump has imposed a slew of tariffs on Canada.
Recently, Ontario Premier Doug Ford imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian electricity exports to the United States, to which Trump threatened to impose a 50 per cent tariff on Canada nationwide.
Ford eventually spoke with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, mutually agreeing to back down on escalating the trade war.