Photo credit: the New York Times
Mike Carney an economist and political newcomer, has been sworn in as Canada’s new Prime Minister.
BBC reports that he delivered he remarked that Canada will never become a part of the United States.
He took office on Friday some days after being elected leader of the Liberal Party. Canada is currently in a trade war with the US President Donald Trump.
“We know that by building together, we can give ourselves far more than anyone else can take away,” He said after the ceremony.
Carney is replacing outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was in office for nine years, after securing a landslide victory in last week’s Liberal leadership race.
Carney told reporters: “We will never, in any shape or form, be part of the US.
“We are fundamentally a different country,” he said later that Trump’s musings that Canada join the US as its “51st state,” is “crazy”.
However, he declined to answer questions about the timing of Canada’s next federal election which is currently scheduled for October.
In his first order as Prime Minister, Carney moved to end a policy that had been frequently attacked against by political opponents.
He ended the consumer carbon pricing programme – a key environmental policy under Trudeau that had become deeply unpopular in recent years amid high inflation.
At an afternoon cabinet meeting, Canney said his government will still take steps to fight climate change. An industrial carbon tax on large emitters remains in place.
Carney previously held roles as governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. He helped both countries weather major financial disruption.
Carney has promised to uphold Canada’s reciprocal tariffs on specific American goods for as long as Trump maintains 25% universal tariffs on Canadian goods not covered by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) trade deal.
However, economists say Canada risks a recession if Trump’s tariffs are fully imposed since Canada is dependent on trade with the US
