Mark Carney, the frontrunner to be the next Canadian prime minister, has said his country is “going to stand up to a bully” after US President Donald Trump announced tariffs of 25% on Canada. Speaking exclusively to BBC Newsnight, 59-year-old Carney said Canada will “match dollar for dollar the US tariffs”.
As well as levying a 25% tariff on Canadian imports on Saturday, the White House has announced tariffs of 25% on Mexico and 10% on China.
Carney, who announced his run for leader of Canada’s governing Liberal Party in January, is the former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England.
He is currently one of five candidates in the running to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – and has so far secured the largest support base among Liberal MPs.
The leadership race will conclude on 9 March. The winner will replace Trudeau – who announced his intention to resign in January after nine years in office – both as prime minister and party leader.
Canada is then required to hold a federal election to elect a new government on or before 20 October, with the Liberal party currently trailing their Conservative rivals in the polls.
In response to the tariff announcement, Carney told Newsnight that “President Trump probably thinks Canada will cave in”.
“But we are going to stand up to a bully, we’re not going to back down,” he said. “We’re united and we will retaliate.”
The former Bank of England governor said the tariffs are “going to damage the US’s reputation around the world”.
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