Looking for a Man in Finance: Jet-Setting, Globetrotting Mark Carney Is Just Who the Liberals Need

It’s official: Mark Carney is the newest Canadian prime minister and will lead the Liberals into the federal election on April 28. As a Harvard- and Oxford-trained economist who was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, wears $2,000 sneakers, and rubs shoulders with Davos elites, Carney is a one-percenter through and through. In an era of anti-elite and anti-globalization backlash, he’s an unlikely candidate to govern Canada. However, he has been riding a wave of enthusiasm: Carney, who boasts a net +13 favourability rating, won the Liberal leadership race by a landslide 86 per cent, smashing even favourable polling odds. What explains Carney’s unique and unexpected appeal?

Firstly, Carney has deftly navigated Canadian political waters to dispel the “globalist” label’s negative associations. Fortunately for Carney, he’s not associated with Trudeau’s unpopular immigration policies. Furthermore, in an ironic twist for reptilian conspiracy theorists, he’s proven a chameleon able to shed unpopular policy: despite his stint as the UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance, he has cancelled the consumer carbon tax, neutering Poilievre’s “Axe the Tax” campaign. Moreover, he’s put his assets into a blind trust, fending off insider trading and corruption concerns.

Additionally, in uncertain economic times, Carney’s economic background may be just what Canadians desire. From 2008–2013, he nimbly led Canada through the 2008 global financial crisis as Governor of the Bank of Canada, coordinating early interest rate cuts, novel quantitative easing, and conditional rate commitments, among other policies. Partly due to his actions, Canada experienced the mildest recession and earliest recovery among the G7. He was then poached by the UK to become the first foreign Governor of the Bank of England, where he guided the country through the economic shocks of Brexit. Thus, at a time when Trump tariffs and the economy are the top two election issues, electing the archetypal “Davos man” suddenly doesn’t sound too bad—Trump’s destructive actions have made populism unappealing as voters sour on Poilievre.

Moreover, while voters have been “speed-dating” Carney for the past few months, he’s been a darling of the political and media establishment for years. The Liberals have tried to court him as early as 2012, the same year Stephen Harper, then prime minister, asked Carney to be his finance minister. You might have to squint to see it, but the middle-aged, grey-haired man has even been described as “smart and sexy” by Time Magazine as early as 2010 and has earned the flattering epithet of “rock-star banker” in British, Canadian, and international media. Carney’s hot-thing status is already paying dividends in favourable international coverage. 

To be fair, Carney is not immune to stumbles. He’s struggled with his French (accidentally saying “we agree with Hamas” during the leadership debate) and has been labelled a liar for misrepresenting his vote to move Brookfield Asset Management’s headquarters to the US. Furthermore, political tailwinds could peter out if the Trump tariff threat recedes (although it’s unlikely). But on the whole, at this moment, one thing is clear: Canadian voters might just be looking for a man in finance. Luckily for the Liberals, that man is Mark Carney.

Edited by Christy Khairallah

Featured image: “Mark Carney – World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012” by World Economic Forum is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.