Mark Carney has been elected as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and will become the next Prime Minister of Canada.

Carney’s victory was certified Sunday evening, as the former Bank of Canada governor took 85 per cent of the vote among Liberals. His campaign was launched following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement he would resign in early January. Trudeau said he would hold the position until the party chose a new leader.

This change in leadership could mean different priorities for agriculture, even from a few months ago.

“At the big level, clearly it’s changed a lot,” said Tyler McCann, Managing Director of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute.

“We’ve seen the Liberal Party up in the polls. We’ve seen a new leader bring new life into it,” McCann said, “but it’s not clear to me what that means from an agriculture perspective. Again, I think we expect to see … agriculture will still be a minor issue.”

Carney has pledged to “immediately remove” the consumer carbon tax in his climate plan, though may not be as tough on the overall carbon tax as the Poilievre-led Conservative Party.

“When I see that some things that’s not working, I will change it,” said Carney in his acceptance speech Sunday evening, “so my government will immediately eliminate the divisive consumer carbon tax on families and farmers.”

Canadian farmers and agriculture group leaders have indicated the price on carbon as one of their primary concerns ahead of the 2025 federal election.

McCann said this move changes the dynamic of an election that was expected to revolve around carbon pricing: “this is now a Trump or tariff election,” McCann said.

“The policy differences between the Conservatives and the Liberals on carbon and sustainability issues, certainly when it comes to the consumer carbon tax, have narrowed. Carney and Poilievre have effectively the same position.”

McCann said this shift in policy may reveal broader issues in the campaign.

“I think that that will take the issue off the agenda so to speak for many farmers, but I do think it highlights, in my mind, the big issue of the campaign, and that is: do people think that Liberals have changed?”

Carney has also taken a hardline stance against U.S. tariffs, saying in a statement he would support dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs and diversifying Canada’s trade relationships with partners other than the U.S.

“There’s someone who’s trying to weaken our economy,” Carney said. “Yep. Donald Trump.”

“The Canadian government has rightly retaliated and has rightly retaliated with our own tariffs that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impact here in Canada. The government will keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us and until they can join us in making credible and reliable commitments to free and fair trade,” Carney added.

McCann said tariffs could be the one issue to push agriculture more to the forefront this election cycle, though he was doubtful of how much the message of diversifying trade will resonate.

“I think you need to go a step further, he said. “Are you going to address the potential for labour disruption through changes to the Canada Labor Code? That is something agriculture would need to see. Are you going to invest significantly in trade enabling infrastructure, and are you going to put the efforts, the political and technical resources into resolving market access barriers?”

Carney’s new tenure as Prime Minister will likely be short, as Canadians can expect a federal election called within the next few weeks.

Source: Farmtario / Jonah Grignon