Mark Carney sworn in as Canada PM

OTTAWA: Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada´s prime minister on Friday, taking charge of a country rattled by a breakdown in US relations since President Donald Trump´s return to power.

The ruling Liberal Party overwhelmingly backed Carney to replace Justin Trudeau, betting his experience leading two central banks through historic crises will re-assure Canadians facing a potentially devastating trade war.

“We´re going to get right to work,” he told reporters before taking the oath of office. The first cabinet meeting will be held following the swearing-in ceremony. Diplomatic sources told AFP he will make his first foreign trip as prime minister to Europe next week.

Carney, who turns 60 on Sunday, is a political novice who has never won an elected public office but his campaign skills will be tested soon with Canada likely headed for a general election in weeks.

The threats posed by Trump are expected to dominate the vote. The US president has sought to bludgeon Canada, imposing sweeping import tariffs and threatening further levies while claiming the country is not “viable” on its own and should be annexed by Washington.

Carney, who was sworn in as Canada´s 24th prime minister at a ceremony in Ottawa, has described Trump´s stance as the most serious challenge Canada has faced in a generation. “Everything in my life has prepared me for this moment,” Carney said on Sunday after winning the Liberal Party leadership race.

He was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs before serving as governor of the Bank of Canada during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and also led the Bank of England through the turmoil surrounding the Brexit vote. He has sought to present himself as purpose-built to lead a country through a trade war with the United States, once Canada´s closest ally but now a country that Carney says Canada can “no longer trust.”