Mark Carney, the new head of the ruling Liberal Party of Canada and the likely next Prime Minister, looks to “rebuild” the frayed relations with India under the predecessor preceding him, Justin Trudeau. The ex-central banker at 59 also intends to diversify Ottawa’s trade relations with New Delhi.
Carney, like the other contenders, immensely won the race to success as Canada’s best leader, having received a staggering 85.9 percent of votes in the Liberal Party race.
Recently he spoke on the US tariffs on Canada before his election while interacting with media in Calgary, Alberta, and stated, “What Canada will seek to do is diversify our trading relationships with like-minded countries, and there are opportunities to rebuild the relationship with India.”
“There needs to be a shared sense of values around that commercial relationship, and if I am Prime Minister, I look forward to the opportunity to build that,” he added.
Yet another benefit for India, with Carney at the helm in Canada, would be that he is familiar with Ottawa’s economic links with New Delhi. He previously led both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England and also headed the board of Brookfield Asset Management, which has invested in India’s realty, renewable energy, and infrastructure sectors. He vacated that position in January.
Any effort by Ottawa to improve bilateral ties would be welcome by New Delhi especially because of the tariff threats of US President Donald Trump that would probably affect both nations. With Canada being one of the most sought-after destinations for Indians moving out of the country, New Delhi may also bring forth the fact that Ottawa has been limiting immigration and tightening visa regulations as a change of government dialogue with the new Canadian leadership.
Answering questions from the media recently in Calgary, Alberta, regarding the tariffs slapped onto Canada by the US, Carney said, “What Canada will be looking into is to diversify our trading relationships with countries that share similar values with us; opportunities for rebuilding such are there with India.”
“There is a need to have a common ground of values surrounding that commercial relationship, and if I am Prime Minister, I look forward to the opportunity to build that”, he further noted.
Carney has a thorough understanding of India’s economy since he was a member of Brookfield Asset Management’s board until the beginning of this January. The company has previously told Hindustan Times that Brookfield has been very hopeful about India with around $30 billion assets under specific management across multiple sectors including real estate, infrastructure, renewable energy, private equity, and special investments.
The statement of Carney was released by Ritesh Malik, chair of the Canada-India Foundation or CIF. “Carney as an experienced economist and his time spent with Brookfield understands how important this relationship is economically. I think his first attention would be on foreign policy keeping in trade and commerce and all else will naturally be upward trajectory from current scenario for Canada-India.”
Malik felt that given Carney’s “global perspective and recognition of strategic geopolitical importance,” India, “it’s plausible that his leadership could introduce a fresh approach to Canada-India relations, potentially fostering stronger economic and strategic ties between the two nations.”
India Canada Ties
The relations between India and Canada plummeted to an all-time low after Trudeau in September 2023 alleged that Indians were involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 that year. New Delhi repeatedly refuted the allegations, calling them “baseless”. Following this, both countries expelled each other’s top diplomats.
Ottawa also put on hold the Early Progress Trade Agreement which would have otherwise been concluded in 2023.
Who is Mark Carney?
Mark Carney was born March 16, 1965, in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, but raised in Edmonton, Alberta.
Notably, Carney has led the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and headed the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020. After supporting the Canadian authority during the most extreme effects of the 2008 financial crisis, he joined the Bank of England as its first non-British occupant in the history of the foundation of the bank in 1694.
In 2020, he was appointed as the special envoy of the United Nations on climate action and finance.
A former Goldman Sachs banker, Carney spent 13 years working across London, Tokyo, New York, and Toronto before joining the Bank of Canada as deputy governor in 2003. He has absolutely no connections with politics, though.
He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University in 1988 and earned master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from Oxford University. Like most of the Canadians, he happens to have played ice hockey; he was a backup goalie at Harvard.
Carney is a citizen of Canada, the UK, and Ireland. He wants to become a citizen of Canada at the end, but this would not be a legal requirement and is rather considered politically advisable.
His wife Diana is British-born, and they have four daughters.
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