Canada's Liberal Party elects new leader to replace Justin Trudeau

According to CNN, Mr. Mark Carney is expected to lead the Liberal Party in the next federal election - which must be held before October, but could happen much earlier - where he could face stiff competition from the Conservative Party, which is currently leading in the polls.

While Mr. Carney will immediately assume leadership of the Liberal Party, incumbent Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will continue to lead Canada for an undisclosed transition period until a successor is in place.

One of the biggest issues that new party leader Carney will have to tackle immediately is the deteriorating relationship between Canada and the United States.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly blamed Canada for illegal immigration into the United States, threatening to make Canada the 51st state and impose steep tariffs on Canadian imports, which the White House says are necessary to stem the flow of fentanyl into the US border.

The ripple effects of the strained relationship have spread throughout Canadian society, with fans at NHL and NBA games in Canada even booing the American national anthem.

Mr. Carney did not dodge the question of how to deal with the Donald Trump administration.

Since the US tariffs were announced last month, Mr. Carney has advocated for a dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariff, which would hit the US hard but have minimal impact on Canada.

Following Mr Trump's tariff announcement and allegations of fentanyl smuggling from Canada into the US, Carney said he was "insulted" given the longstanding friendship between Canada and the US.

Mr. Carney began his career in finance and was appointed as the United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance in 2019. Building on his background, Carney has made clean energy, climate policy and economic prosperity for Canada some of the central aspects of his campaign.

When he launched his election campaign, Mr Carney highlighted his role in helping the government tackle debt during the 2008 financial crisis.

Mr. Carney has focused on bringing economic prosperity to Canada with the help of natural resources such as critical minerals and making Canada a leader in clean energy, emphasizing that being low-carbon will make Canada more competitive.

He has proposed shifting the financial burden of a carbon tax from consumers to large corporations and said that under his leadership, taxes paid by Canadian consumers and small businesses on fuel would be replaced with incentives to reduce carbon emissions.