Mark Carney’s victory to become the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada is a bigger victory than many have seen, experts suggest.
Carney was elected with 85.9 per cent of the vote on the first ballot in the Liberal leadership race, beating his nearest rival, former finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, who garnered only eight per cent support.
“It was very decisive. Not only did he get 86 per cent of support from those who voted, Mark Carney won every riding in the country,” said Lori Williams, political scientist with Calgary’s Mount Royal University.
“Certainly, it’s bigger than Justin Trudeau in 2013 and it’s bigger than Pierre Poilievre.”
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Williams says Carney had the race locked going into the vote, but the resounding number of votes in support was a surprise.
“This is a real mandate he can carry forward. He’s got the support of his party, there’s an indication that he’s got a lot of confidence to deal with the challenges that Canada is facing,” she said.
Williams says the Opposition is painting Carney as being a part of the Trudeau government for a long time, but now that he’s leader, she’s curious to see what changes.
“Whether there is going to be more discipline and unity around some of those approaches they take, what kind of policy responses might take place and what’s going to happen within Canada to strengthen the economy,” she said.
Days to an election call
Now that Carney is leader, Williams says it will only be a short time before Trudeau officially resigns and an election is called.
“I suspect we will be looking at an election before May.”
She says Carney may have the tools needed to make up the 20-point lead that the Conservative Party has been holding, something that many experts were saying was “unlikely.”
“The winds have completely changed because of the Trump administration in the U.S. This series of challenges against Canada has Canadians increasingly concerned not only about affordability but sovereignty,” Williams said.
“That’s shifted peoples’ view; they’re looking at who can be the next best prime minister and not just someone who’s criticizing the existing policies of the Liberal government.”
Though Poilievre has been pushing for a federal election call for months now, Williams suggests an earlier election than later may not help things for the Opposition.
“We’ve already seen the attacks, the Conservatives have lost some money,” she said.
“With election spending limits, the amount of money they can spend will be limited in their ability to use it against Mark Carney.
“This is going to be a nasty campaign.”
