In his career as a central banker, Mark Carney, the upcoming prime minister of Canada, has overcome the global financial crisis of 2008 and the collapse defining two ERAs as Brexit.
He has dealt with political turmoil, social upheavals and economic meltdowns.
Now he is faced with something undoubtedly a lifelong challenge: Donald J. Trump.
Can Carney find room for compromise by negotiating with Trump on tariffs and other flammability issues while trying to win federal elections on the full-throat anti-Trump platform?
Mr. Carney will be elected as Liberal Party leader on Sunday and sworn as prime minister along the Canadian parliamentary political system, marking the end of Justin Trudeau's era.
His acceptance speech was almost a celebration. Instead, it was like a cry of war.
“The United States is not Canada. Canada will never be part of America in any way, in any way, or in any way,” he told the loyal party in Ottawa on Sunday night, referring to Trump's threat of making Canada the 51st state.
“We didn't ask for this fight, but when someone else drops their gloves, the Canadians are always ready.”
A bigger battle is approaching
Mr. Carney's words sparked the audience and robbed him of his decision to impose tariffs on Canadian goods and his decision to represent Canada and its prosperity, and his country's deep-feeling rage towards Trump.
The 59-year-old former Bank of Canada governor and the Bank of England are presenting themselves as Canada needs them now.
Mr. Carney's Pitch to Canadian means that his background in finance and his experience in working with global challenges and powerful figures has allowed him to become an expert, stable and veteran steward to navigate the crisis in his relationship with the US.
“Everything in my life has prepared me for this moment,” he said Sunday.
His party clearly believes that. In Sunday's leadership race, members rebounded behind him and handed him an overwhelming victory. He won 85% of the votes.
For a man who spent most of his career in prominent but unelected public sector roles, primarily outside his home country, the helm of the country is rapidly rising.
His next fight will soon come, and it will be bigger and tougher than the election campaign he just won.
Mr. Carney may soon call federal elections as he does not hold seats in Congress and his party has only a handful of seats in the House.
Three well-versed in Carney's ideas say between the days from now and election day, which could be weeks away, he will try to do a tough balance to win the federal election. People didn't want to identify publicly speaking about Mr. Carney's plans.
He will take on Trump at the heart of the campaign and negotiate with the US president on tariffs and other requests, including access to protected markets such as dairy products and lowering US taxes sold in Canada.
And he tries to convince Canadians that they are closely watching what they can do.
A spectacular upset
Trudeau's step-down and Trump's aggressive rhetoric and policy gave Carney an unexpected opening. In January, the Conservative Party, led by Pierre Poilierble, had a more than 20 percent lead over the liberals in the polls, with many voters unhappy with Trudeau's stewardship.
But the gap is closing rapidly. Kearney's rise appears to have been turbocharged by the fact that many Canadians are looking for economic experts rather than politicians.
Poilliebre understands the political efficacy of Trump's threat to Canadians, and many Trump supporters have also begun to promote themselves as anti-Trump despite Polierve and the two men having ideological affiliations.
“Pierre Poillivre's plans are ready to divide and conquer us,” Carney said Sunday. “Because the worshiper at Donald Trump's altar will kneel before him, so we won't stand up to him.”
Last week, several polls showed that the Liberal Party under Carney could tie up with or even slightly beat Poilierbre's conservatives.
Veteran pollster Darrell Bricker, researchers and chief executives at Ipsos Global – Public Affairs and Opinion Research and Consultancy Firm, said they have never seen such harsh and rapid political change anywhere in the world.
Bricker added, elections are very useful to the hands, and Carney's challenge is to avoid trying to become something he doesn't: politicians.
“The act of governance is actually a Kearney campaign,” Bricker said. “His proposition is, “I'm someone who can manage it in a crisis. We're in a crisis, please tell me how I manage it.”
A reboot with Trump?
Governance necessarily means dealing with Trump. The US has imposed some customs duties on Canadian goods, while others have a grace period until early April. Next is a 25% tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum exports to the US, which is expected to come into effect Wednesday.
Financial markets are turmoil amidst uncertainty and are causing damage to Canada's economy.
In his conversation with Trudeau, Trump revealed that his list of financial complaints is long and includes industries such as dairy products and banking.
Trump and his advisors also raised the issue that lies at the heart of Canada's sovereignty. This includes revisions to the border treaties and underwater agreements between the two countries.
A collection of threats corresponds to a fork moment for Canada.
“Donald Trump has put unfair tariffs on what we built, what we sell, and how we make a living,” Carney said Sunday. “He's attacking Canadian workers, families and businesses. We can't make him a success.”
Carney got a glimpse into what he was trying to do in his interactions with Trump. This includes leviing more retaliatory fees on US products and using revenue to help Canadian workers and businesses that have been hurt by ruptured relationships.
However, he also says he wants to start negotiations for “free and fair dealings” between the two countries.
Trump and Trudeau have a bad relationship that has worsened in recent weeks in Trump's first term.
Carney's supporters and advisors hope to reboot Trump and Dynamics and establish better chemistry for Canada's profits.
Trump's agenda may not change, but he is trying to protect his economy and sovereignty, allowing Canada to be on a different footing.
