Mark Carney launches leadership bid, comes out swinging against Pierre Poilievre

Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney officially kicked off his bid to replace Justin Trudeau on Thursday by launching barbs at Pierre Poilievre and describing the Conservative leader as a dangerous, sloganeering populist.

Carney launched his Liberal leadership campaign at a community centre in Edmonton that was packed with roughly 200 supporters — some wearing SFX buttons representing the local St. Francis Xavier high school Carney attended when he was a teenager.

Former mayor of Edmonton Don Iveson was there and Carney pointed out his brothers Brian and Sean in the audience.

As Carney spoke, he was flanked by several Liberal MPs endorsing his bid, including George Chahal, Sameer Zuberi and Brendan Hanley.

“I’m back home in Edmonton to declare my candidacy for leader of the Liberal party and prime minister of Canada,” Carney said to applause at the Laurier Heights Community League.

Carney grew up in city’s west end before he left to study economics at Ivy League universities abroad. In his speech, he recalled lacing up his skates next door to play hockey.

“I can still hear the blades of the skates tapping on the floor as we try to get the blood flowing into our toes,” he said, joking about the Edmonton weather.

Carney had a gold-plated career in global finance that eventually saw him setting national interest rates as the head of the Bank of Canada and later the Bank of England.

If Carney wins the race, he would become prime minister without having a seat in Parliament — which would make for an awkward situation, though not one without precedent in Canadian politics. And it’s likely a moot point, since this Parliament is nearing the end of its lifespan and an election is widely expected possibly just a few weeks after the leadership election.

Carney admitted in his speech Thursday that he’s not an ordinary politician, but also said these are not ordinary times.

He said many Canadians are anxious about their precarious economic situations, many young people can’t afford to buy homes and Donald Trump will soon be sworn in as U.S. president, posing a new economic threat.

The former central banker said that even though he’s never run for public office before, he’s ready to take on the popular Conservatives in an election.

“I know I’m not the usual suspect when it comes to politics, but this is no time for politics as usual. No, it’s not the time for lifelong politicians such as Pierre Poilievre — politicians with bad ideas,” he said.

The Conservative party — which has long presented Carney as tight with Trudeau and his inner circle and has attacked him for years — was ready for his announcement.

It released a new digital ad branding him as “carbon tax Carney” just hours before the formal announcement, citing his history of supporting carbon pricing policies.

“Mark Carney is back from Europe to continue what Justin Trudeau started,” the ad said, arguing he would behave just like Prime Minister Trudeau in government.

Carney briefly nodded to his position on the carbon price when questioned by reporters, saying that if the policy is terminated, it should be replaced with something “that is at least, if not more effective” at fighting climate change.

Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland and Liberal House leader Karina Gould are both expected to launch their own leadership bids in the coming days.

Leadership candidates have until Jan. 23 to declare they will run in a short race that concludes on March 9.