Justin Trudeau Is Leaving a Job No One Seems to Want, Except Mark Carney

Carney Added the Liberal Party Now Has a Shot in the Election This Year With Trudeau Stepping Aside

- Paul Vieira

Since Justin Trudeau said he would resign as prime minister, one Canadian politician after another has looked at running to lead the Liberal Party into new elections that polls show it will lose badly and said: "Not me."

Now a prominent name is finally hinting he will run—Mark Carney, a familiar face to the world of finance as the former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England and current chairman of Brookfield Asset Management.

In an appearance Monday night on "The Daily Show," he suggested—without mentioning his potential candidacy—that the party could benefit from an outsider with experience in economics and finance to help guide the Canadian economy at a precarious moment, given the threat by President-elect Donald Trump to slap a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports. Carney added the Liberal Party now has a shot in the election this year with Trudeau stepping aside.

Carney has said he was considering running for the job since Trudeau announced his resignation a week ago, but the "Daily Show" appearance marked the first semblance of a campaign appearance. On the program, he criticized Trudeau's economic performance.

"I think in a situation like this, you need change. You need to address the economy," Carney said, in his first media appearance since Trudeau's resignation Jan. 6. "Canadians have been very hard pressed in the last few years. Wages have not kept up with inflation. People are falling behind, not getting ahead...And truth be told the government has not been as focused on those issues as it could be. We need to focus on them immediately."