Nobody should be surprised that the federal Liberal Party selected Mark Carney as the party's next leader and, in the process, Canada's next prime minister.
It was clear in recent weeks that, barring something completely unforeseen, Carney was going to win the race. It was just a matter of the margin of victory. With 86 per cent of the vote against three other candidates, it was a landslide.
And his win changes the complexion of the next election.
Let's be clear: Mark Carney is not Justin Trudeau. He's a much stronger leader and a brighter individual. It seems he wants to take the party back toward the political centre, where the Liberals have typically governed. He might not be as charismatic or as engaging as Trudeau, but Canadians have clearly had enough of Trudeau's bumbling.
His commitment to ditch the capital gains tax changes and his pledge to eliminate the consumer carbon tax on families, farmers and small- and medium-sized businesses flies in the face of Trudeau's stubbornness to keep the punitive measure.
You have to wonder what was going through Trudeau's mind when Carney publicly took aim at his policies early in Carney's victory speech.
The expectation is that Carney will call a snap election within days of 小蓝视频 sworn in as prime minister. It's a tricky strategy. It allows him to strike while riding the wave of momentum from such a convincing election victory, but it doesn't give him much time to build his profile with Canadians.
As an economist, Carney was as good as anyone in the world. His stewardship of the Bank of Canada, particularly during the Great Recession in 2008 and 2009, allowed him to take on the head job at the Bank of England, a highly sought-after role. But there's a difference between 小蓝视频 a great economist and a great head of state. His political experience is lacking. If he calls a snap election, he won't have much time to prove to Canadians that he's the guy to guide our country.
If he does call an election, it also means Parliament won't be sitting at a time of great economic uncertainty due to the chaos brought about by U.S. President Donald Trump and his economic policies, tariff threats, and repeated insane calls for Canada to be the 51st U.S. state.
Carney's win will also force a change in approach from Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Since becoming leader, Poilievre has been able to target an increasingly unpopular prime minister in Trudeau. He had carte blanche to say almost anything he wanted. People might not be as supportive of Poilievre's barbs when it comes to Carney.
Under normal circumstances, Poilievre would be able to hammer the Liberals for 小蓝视频 a tired, 9 1/2-year-old government. They might have a new leader, but the caucus is the same.
With Trump's leadership of the U.S. early in his term, Poilievre isn't just up against Carney and a Liberal government past its best-before date. Poilievre and Carney also have to campaign against Trump and his policies. In the case of Poilievre and the Tories, they have to distance themselves from the ardent Trump supporters within the party. They have a lot more to lose than gain with Trump's backers in their ranks, thanks to the growing disdain that most Canadians now have for the U.S. president and his brand of political chaos.
Poilievre should be able to win the next election, but it's not the slam dunk that it seemed to be three months ago. The Liberals under Trudeau were going to be dusted off quickly in the next election. Canadians in the large urban markets finally realized what those of us in rural ridings have known almost from the outset: Trudeau wasn't cut out for the job, and he never was going to be good enough to be our PM.
Now it's Poilievre vs. Carney in the party leader showdown.
This next election, whenever it is called, just became a lot more interesting.
