- PM wishes newly sworn in Canadian premier successful tenure.
- Carney takes charge of Canada rattled by breakdown in US relations.
- Carney is political novice who has never won elected public office.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has congratulated his newly sworn in Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on assuming the new role.
Carney was sworn in as Canada’s prime minister on Friday, taking charge of a country rattled by a breakdown in US relations since President Donald Trump’s return to power.
In a congratulatory post on X, PM Shehbaz wished Carney a successful tenure in office.
“I congratulate Mr Mark Carney on being sworn in as the Prime Minister of Canada. [I] wish him a successful tenure in office and look forward to working with him to strengthen Pakistan-Canada relations further in all spheres,” the premier wrote on X.
The ruling Liberal Party (LP) overwhelmingly backed Carney to replace former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, betting his experience leading two central banks through historic crises will reassure the citizens facing a potentially devastating trade war.
“We’re going to get right to work,” he told reporters before taking the oath of office. The first cabinet meeting will be held following the swearing-in ceremony. Diplomatic sources told AFP he will make his first foreign trip as prime minister to Europe next week.
Carney, who turns 60 on Sunday, is a political novice who has never won an elected public office but his campaign skills will be tested soon with Canada likely headed for a general election in weeks.
The threats posed by Trump are expected to dominate the vote.
The US president has sought to bludgeon Canada, imposing sweeping import tariffs and threatening further levies while claiming the country is not “viable” on its own and should be annexed by Washington.
Carney, who was sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister at a ceremony in Ottawa, has described Trump’s stance as the most serious challenge Canada has faced in a generation. “Everything in my life has prepared me for this moment,” Carney said on Sunday after winning the Liberal Party leadership race.
He was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs before serving as governor of the Bank of Canada during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and also led the Bank of England through the turmoil surrounding the Brexit vote.
Carney has sought to present himself as purpose-built to lead a country through a trade war with the United States, once Canada’s closest ally but now a country that he says Canada can “no longer trust”.
At a Group of Seven meeting in Quebec, Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, who keeps her job in the new cabinet, said Carney would bring a “new dynamic” to US diplomacy.
Speaking before Carney was sworn in, Joly said she and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is at the G7, were working on setting up a call between Trump and Carney “in the next couple of days”.
Carney’s team of 23 ministers, slimmed down from Trudeau’s 36, keeps the core of the old guard dealing with Washington, including Francois-Philippe Champagne in the finance portfolio, Dominic LeBlanc who moves to trade and Defence Minister Bill Blair.
