Mark Carney’s landslide Liberal leadership win Sunday sparked mixed reactions from Mount Royal University students the day after.
“That was not unexpected. It was widely seen he was going to be the new Liberal leader. I was surprised at how big a win it was,” said Duane Bratt, a political science professor at Mount Royal University.
With over 152,000 votes cast, the former central banker won in a landslide victory with almost 86 percent of the vote. While he was always the front-runner, many expected runner-up Chrystia Freeland to perform better.
“I mean, here she is, a stalwart soldier for the Liberal Party, has been in the cabinet since 2015 and was a star recruit in 2013 and she gets eight per cent of the vote. She’s got to be incredibly disappointed,” said Bratt. “It’s a real slap in the face for Chrystia Freeland. It’s one thing to lose, it’s another to get eight per cent.”
Shortly after Carney’s win, Freeland pledged her support for Carney on social media.
An impending election
Parliament is prorogued until March 24, but the Globe and Mail reports that some sources close to Carney say he may call an election before that.
“This will be a really interesting election, and the stakes are incredibly high,” said Bratt.
“We’re dealing with the worst economic crisis in Canada since the Great Depression and the biggest political crisis probably since World War II, and the biggest threat from the United States since the 19th century. Those are pretty high stakes.”
With a new prime minister delegate, the question on everyone’s minds shifted to wondering when the next federal election will occur.
“I think he’s going to pull the plug himself and go straight into a general election,” said Bratt.
A key topic in the next election will be how candidates will deal with Donald Trump and his constant threats of tariffs and annexation.
“It’s completely altered the ballot box question,” said Bratt. “Who is best addressed to deal with Donald Trump, and both Poilievre and Carney are focusing on that issue right now.”
Carney wasted no time addressing Donald Trump’s threats in his speech after his landslide victory on Sunday.
He emphasized that his government would focus on trading relationships with reliable partners and took a strong stance against Donald Trump, saying, “The Americans want our resources, our water, our land, our country. Think about it. If they succeeded, they would destroy our way of life. In America, health care is a big business, in Canada, it is a right. America is a melting pot. Canada is a mosaic.”
The next election is expected to be a tight race. For more than a year, polls showed the Conservatives leading. But since Trudeau announced his resignation in early January, the party’s lead has dropped by more than half of what it once was.
“We’re already seeing a major shift in the Liberal Party in the polls,” said Bratt. “I think the Liberals have to feel confident, more confident now than they did three months ago, which looked like an absolute landslide majority government for Pierre Poilievre conservatives. Now it looks like a very competitive race.”
Poilievre takes aim
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre wasted no time in attacking Carney.
Shortly after Carney’s win was announced, Poilievre posted on social media that the Liberal Party was trying to “trick” Canadians into electing the liberals again, saying Carney was merely replacing Trudeau.
“It is the same Liberal team that drove up taxes, housing costs, and food prices, while Carney personally profited from moving billions of dollars and thousands of jobs out of Canada to the United States,” Poilievre said.
“Poilievre is an attacker. He’s always attacked. There is no conciliatory bone in his body, and we’re on the verge of a general election, so he was not going to do the traditional thing about congratulating Carney on his win. He’s jumping right in full attack mode,” said Bratt.
Mount Royal University students react
With Carney’s win fresh on people’s minds, the Calgary Journal asked Mount Royal University students about Carney’s victory.
The students’ reactions varied greatly. Most admitted they did not know who Carney was or didn’t know enough about the situation to have an opinion, and the students who did have opinions on the matter were equally split between those in favour of Carney’s win and those against it.
“I’m very happy that he won. I think he’s going to do great things for Canada, and I hope he takes down Pierre when the time comes,” said Dateme Dami-Fiberesima, a sociology student.
Naomi Woldu, another sociology student, expressed a similar opinion.
“I think it’s a good thing for the Liberal Party. It’s a good thing he got elected,” said Woldu.
Carney’s win was also met with criticism. David Gonzalez, a business student, doesn’t like that Carney will become prime minister without ever being elected to public office.
“I think it’s kind of stupid. I mean, he’s our unelected prime minister,” he said. “He doesn’t even have a seat in Parliament. I think it’s kind of ridiculous that Canada allows that.”
Mustapha Al-Fouani, a criminal justice major, criticized the shift in the perceived ideology of the Liberal Party from Trudeau to Carney.
“I think that it’s a stupid decision for the Liberals because it’s kind of hypocritical when you think about how Liberals are supposed to be more socialist than Conservatives,” he said. “But when you look at Carney’s track record and his history of employment, it tends to be quite the opposite. I don’t think he’s a good face for liberal leadership.”