Jennifer Lash, the Liberal candidate for North Island — Powell River, has released a statement on the party's election of Mark Carney as its new leader.
"Mark Carney plans to usher Canada into a new era of economic independence, reducing reliance on the U.S. and ensuring prosperity for all Canadians. I am excited to be on this journey with our next Prime Minister."
Carney was elected in a landslide, with 85 per cent of the vote. The prime minister-designate of Canada will succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the coming days when he is sworn in by Governor General Mary Simon. Carney will become the first Canadian prime minister to never serve in elected office before his election.
Before he focused on politics, Carney was in finance and banking. He started his career at Goldman Sachs, working in various offices in Canada, the United States, England and Japan for 13 years. He left Goldman Sachs in 2003 to become the deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, before being recruited to Canada's Department of Finance as a senior associate deputy minister, where he served under Liberal (Ralph Goodale) and Conservative (Jim Flaherty) finance ministers between 2004 and 2007. Carney has also served as the governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, vice chairman at Brookfield Asset Management, group chief executive of the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets, special advisor to Justin Trudeau and chair of the Liberal's task force on economic growth.
In his acceptance speech on March 9, Carney spoke about his proposed initiatives to strengthen the economy, such as removing interprovincial trade barriers, expanding international markets, increasing housing supply, and providing tax cuts for the middle class.
Carney also vowed to win the ongoing trade war with the United States.
"He’s (U.S. President Donald Trump) attacking Canadian families, workers and businesses. And we cannot let him succeed. And we won’t. We won’t. I am proud of the response of Canadians who are making their voices heard, and their wallets felt.
I am grateful for how our provinces are stepping up to the fight because when we are united, we are Canada strong.
The Canadian government has rightly retaliated with our own tariffs that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impact here in Canada. And my government will keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us respect. And until they can join us in making credible and reliable commitments to free and fair trade. And in the meantime, we will ensure that all proceeds from our tariffs will be used to protect our workers."
A federal election is yet to be called.
Other candidates for the North Island — Powell River for the riding are: Aaron Gunn (Conservative), Tanille Johnston (NDP) Jessica Wegg (Green), and Paul McKnight (PPC).
