Premiership of Mark Carney

The premiership of Mark Carney began on March 14, 2025, when the first Cabinet headed by Mark Carney was sworn in by Governor General Mary Simon. Carney was invited to form the 30th Canadian Ministry and become the 24th Prime Minister of Canada after he succeeded Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party in the 2025 leadership election. Shortly after taking office, Carney advised the governor general to dissolve Parliament and trigger the 2025 federal election, where he led his Liberals to win a plurality of seats in the House of Commons of Canada, forming a minority government.^[1][2]

Upon taking the oath of office, Carney became the first Canadian prime minister born in any of its territories (as opposed to provinces) and the third born west of Ontario (after Joe Clark and Kim Campbell). He is the second prime minister to have earned a PhD, after William Lyon Mackenzie King. Additionally, he is the first to have never served in prior elected office, and the first since John Turner not to be sitting in the House of Commons at time of appointment. In his first act as prime minister, Carney signed a prime ministerial directive to end the consumer carbon tax by April 1, while ensuring that April's carbon rebate continues. The directive was affirmed by an order in council signed by Governor General Mary Simon. Carney's first foreign visits were to France and the United Kingdom on March 17 to strengthen mutual security and sovereignty. The 2025 Speech from the Throne was delivered by King Charles III as part of his 2025 royal tour of Canada, outlining the government's first priorities following the election.

Carney's appointment occurred against the backdrop of Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 United States presidential election and his threats to impose sweeping tariffs on Canada and even annex it. This period coincided with a dramatic turnaround in the Liberal Party's fortunes: the party had been more than 20 points behind in the polls when Trudeau announced his resignation, but soon after Carney was sworn in as prime minister, the polling gap had been eliminated altogether and the Liberals were in the lead, putting them in striking distance of a majority government. The scale of their political turnaround was described by analysts as having "little precedent" in Canadian history.

On January 6, 2025, Trudeau announced his resignation as Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party.^[3] On January 16, 2025, Carney formally announced his intent to run in the leadership election and become Liberal Party leader.^[4][5] On March 9, 2025, he won the leadership election with 85.9% of the overall vote, becoming the next leader of the party and Prime Minister, succeeding Trudeau.^[6][7] Trudeau stayed on as Prime Minister until his formal resignation in the early morning of March 14, 2025 prior to Carney's swearing in later that morning.^[8][9]

At the time of his appointment, Carney did not hold a seat in the House of Commons, similar to the previous premierships of Charles Tupper, Arthur Meighen, and John Turner; all three individuals lacked seats in the House of Commons at the time of their initial appointment as Prime Minister.^[10][11][12] Carney would later win the seat of in Nepean in the 2025 federal election.^[13][14] Upon taking the oath of office, he became the first Canadian prime minister born in any of the territories and the third born west of Ontario (after Joe Clark and Kim Campbell). He is the second prime minister to have earned a PhD, after William Lyon Mackenzie King. Additionally, he is the first to have never served in prior elected office, and the first since John Turner not to be sitting in the House of Commons at time of appointment.

Carney was widely expected to call a federal parliamentary election for late April or early May 2025, ahead of the required election date in October. On March 22, the Liberal Party announced that Carney would contest the riding of Nepean, located within Ottawa, in the election;^[15] ridings in Alberta had been floated given his personal connection to the province, particularly Edmonton, as were safe Liberal seats in Toronto and Ottawa.^[16] On March 23, Carney visited Governor General Mary Simon and asked to dissolve parliament and call an election for April 28.^[17] Carney and the Liberal Party subsequently won the election, defeating Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party and forming their fourth consecutive government.^[18][1][2] The Liberal Party won 169 seats, falling 3 seats short of a majority government, thereby forming a minority government.^[19]

Following the March 14, 2025 Rideau Hall swearing in ceremony by Governor General Mary Simon, Mark Carney, was invited to form his Cabinet and to become the 24th Prime Minister of Canada.

Shortly after being sworn in as Prime Minister, Carney's government approved an order in council to immediately reduce the consumer price of carbon to $0 starting on April 1, 2025, thereby effectively terminating the consumer portion of Canada's carbon pricing policy. The final carbon rebate payment was nonetheless issued as scheduled. Carney stated the policy had become too "divisive" among the Canadian public, resulting in the necessity for it to be removed. The scheme was originally implemented in 2018 through the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, which was passed during Trudeau's first term. The industrial levy on carbon was unaffected.^[20][21]

After the recall of Parliament following the election, Carney introduced legislation to lower the bottom marginal income tax rate from 15% to 14%. The Liberals estimated that this would save two-income household $840 annually.^[22] Another tax change proposed by the bill was the temporary elimination of the Goods and Services Tax for first time home buyers.^[23] Both changes were part of the Liberal platform in the preceding election. The House of Commons approved a ways and means motion allowing the tax changes to effect before the enactment of the bill, and the income tax cut took effect on the following Canada Day, consistent with Carney's pre-election pledge.^[22]

Carney's appointment occurred against the backdrop of Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 United States presidential election and his threats to impose sweeping tariffs on Canada. Disagreements over how to handle this threat were seen as being a contributor to the Trudeau ministry's collapse.^[24][25] However, the Trump administration's conduct would soon spark a political revival for the Liberals, with the ensuing trade war, along with the President's threats to annex Canada, greatly reducing the Liberals' polling gap with the Conservatives.^[26] By the time Carney was sworn in as prime minister, the polling gap had been eliminated altogether and the Liberals were in the lead, putting them in striking distance of a majority government. The scale of their political turnaround was described by analysts as having "little precedent" in Canadian history.^[27]

Carney's first foreign visits were to France and the United Kingdom on March 17 to strengthen mutual security and sovereignty, meeting Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer.^[28] Carney pledged to step up Canada's place on the world stage, beginning with meeting the 2% NATO defense spending target in Fiscal Year 2026, and moving to replace the role of the US in lieu of the Trump administration.^[29]

• Premierships of Pierre Trudeau
• Premiership of Jean Chrétien
• Premiership of Paul Martin
• Premiership of Stephen Harper
• Premiership of Justin Trudeau