Mark Carney ’87 Chosen Prime Minister of Canada in Landslide Liberal Vote

Mark J. Carney ’87 defeated fellow Harvard College alum Chrystia A. Freeland ’90 and two other Liberal Party candidates to become the 24th Prime Minister of Canada and the new leader of the Canadian Liberal Party on Sunday afternoon.

The election was held after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his decision to retire from leadership of the Liberal Party in January. Carney, who also stepped down from Harvard’s second-highest governing board on Sunday, is expected to be sworn into office in the coming week.

On Thursday, Trudeau said he wanted to have a discussion with his successor before setting a date to transition the role.

Carney won 131,674 votes from the Liberal party, representing 85.9 percent of all votes cast for party leader. Freeland, who came in second, got 11,134 votes. Carney has been the frontrunner to lead the Liberal Party since he entered the race in early January.

In his acceptance speech, Carney focused on United States President Donald Trump, who announced a 25 percent tariff on Canadian imports last month. Despite Trump’s last-minute decision to pause the U.S. tariffs, 25 percent retaliatory tariffs by Canada remain in effect.

“My government will keep the tariffs on until the Americans show us respect,” Carney said. “In the meantime, we will make sure all the proceeds — all the proceeds from our tariffs— will be used to protect our workers.”

Carney also said Trump’s threats to erase the border between the two countries and annex Canada would, if successful, “destroy our way of life.”

“Canada will never ever be part of America, in any way, shape, or form,” he said.

The prime ministership is Carney’s first elected public position. He previously served as central bank governor of both Canada and England, leading Canada’s monetary policy through the 2008 financial crisis and England’s monetary policy during the United Kingdom’s 2016 exit from the European Union.

Carney is the first graduate of Harvard College to serve as Prime Minister of Canada and the third Harvard alumnus to serve in the role. Past prime ministers Pierre Elliot Trudeau, whom Carney met during his time at the college, and William Lyon Mackenzie King both received master’s degrees from Harvard. King also earned his PhD from the University.

Though Carney informed Harvard officials that he would step down from the Board of Overseers when he launched his campaign to lead the party, his resignation only took effect Monday.

Carney’s departure leaves an extra sixth spot open in this year’s Board of Overseers election. Harvard alumni will vote on the seven candidates in the election between April 1 and May 20.

A University spokesperson confirmed that Carney’s seat will be filled by the candidate who receives the sixth highest number of votes. His successor will serve until 2027, when Carney’s term would have concluded.

But as Canada’s prime minister, Carney will have little time to rest on his laurels.

Opposition and Conservative Party leader Pierre M. Poilievre pushed multiple times for a no-confidence vote late last year, before the Canadian Parliament went into recess on Jan. 6. When the parliament returns on March 24, Poilievre could revive his move to collapse the current Liberal coalition.

Canadian law also requires a general election by the end of October if Carney’s coalition stands. Carney is also able to call for an election, and almost 86 percent of Canadians supported an immediate general election to respond to Trump’s tariffs when polled in February.

Polling leading up to the election suggested Carney might survive an imminent general election, but the Liberal Party began trailing the Conservatives again in the last week.

Cleo N. Carney ’28, a current first-year student at Harvard College, praised her father as “unflinchingly dedicated to what matters” in a speech introducing him.

“I want Canadians to understand what kind of a man he is,” Cleo Carney said. “He is unwaveringly supportive of the things he cares about.”

“My dad invests in what matters. He expects nothing to come without hard work, and he is always ready to work hard,” she added.

–Staff writer Abigail S. Gerstein can be reached at abigail.gerstein@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @abbysgerstein.

–Staff writer Avi W. Burstein can be reached at avi.burstein@thecrimson.com.