Mark Carney, who used to be amongst the world’s best bankers, is the incumbent Canada’s prime minister. After his swearing in last month, Carney went ahead and called a snap election. He is currently battling to remain in office.
Voting is underway in Canada to decide who will lead the country for the next few years. The two main competitors are the Liberal Party, led by Mark Carney, and the Conservative Party, led by Pierre Poilievre.
Most Canadians know Carney as the former governor of the Bank of England and Bank of Canada. But there is more to his story. Here are five cool facts that you may not have known about Canada’s prime minister.
THE HOCKEY DREAM THAT ALMOST WAS
Mark Carney was born in Fort Smith, a small town in Canada’s Northwest Territories. As a child, he played ice hockey—a game many Canadians are fond of. He travelled on a scholarship to Harvard University, one of the best schools in the world, where he played ice hockey. Even while studying economics at Harvard, hockey remained a big part of Carney’s life. He played for the university’s hockey team.
In 1995, he received his PhD in economics from Oxford University, where he wrote his thesis on whether domestic competition can increase the national competitiveness of an economy—a topic sure to arise as Canada struggles to make internal trade simpler in the face of American tariffs.
A HIDDEN ADMIRER OF ART
Mark Carney has reportedly stated that he and his wife have a private custom: each year on their wedding anniversary, they purchase a work of art. During his stay in London as governor of the Bank of England, he would frequently spend weekends wandering through museums and art galleries.
INTERNATIONAL BACKGROUND
Carney holds Canadian, Irish, and previously British citizenships. However, he recently said he plans to give up his Irish and British citizenships to be fully committed to Canada.
FROM BANKING TO POLITICS
Mark Carney started his career at Goldman Sachs between 1995 and 2003 before joining public service. He worked as deputy governor of the Bank of Canada between 2003 and 2004 and then as senior associate deputy minister of finance. Between 2008 and 2013, he served as governor of the Bank of Canada and subsequently became the first non-British governor of the Bank of England (2013-2020). In 2019, he was appointed as the UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance.
CARNEY CHOSE EUROPE OVER THE US
Carney has not hesitated to from challenging US President Donald Trump. On March 17, he broke tradition by visiting Europe instead of the United States for his first foreign visit as the leader of the nation, with his warm reception in France and the UK contrasting sharply with his nation’s deteriorating relationship with its neighbour to the south.
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