Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney is considering entering the race to succeed Justin Trudeau as leader of Canada’s Liberal Party.
Mr Carney – who headed up Britain’s central bank between 2013 and 2020 – said he was mooting the move following the resignation of Mr Trudeau after nine years as prime minister amid a mounting loss of support from both within his party and across Canada.
In a statement to the Financial Times newspaper, Mr Carney said: “I’ll be considering this decision closely with my family over the coming days.”
The Canadian, 59, would be one of a number of contenders for the role, alongside Mr Trudeau’s former deputy Chrystia Freeland and transport minister Anita Anand.
Mr Trudeau has said he will stay in office until a new leader is chosen and Canada’s parliament has been suspended until March 24.
Mr Carney is currently chairman of Canadian alternative investment firm Brookfield Asset Management.
Not only did he head up the Bank of England, but Mr Carney has also previously served as governor of the Canadian central bank from 2007 to 2013, steering it through the financial crisis.
Before his central bank career, Mr Carney spent 13 years with investment bank Goldman Sachs in its London, Tokyo, New York and Toronto offices.
Dubbed the “rock star banker” after his appointment to the Bank in 2013, he was the first foreign governor at the UK central bank since it was founded in 1694.
He also led efforts to support the UK economy through Brexit and the initial responses to the pandemic, although his successor Andrew Bailey took over in March 2020 as Covid-19 took hold.
Since his role at the Bank, he has held a number of posts in the finance sector and has worked as an adviser to Mr Trudeau.
It is thought that whoever does replace Mr Trudeau is likely to face an imminent general election as they will have to contend with a confidence vote soon after taking on the top job.
