After landslide victory, Mark Carney meets with Trudeau as transition to power begins
Liberal MP Marco Mendicino serving as chief of staff through the transition: sources
Prime minister-designate Mark Carney met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Monday as the new Liberal leader takes the reins of power after a landslide victory in Sunday's party election.
Carney told reporters at Parliament Hill that the meeting was long and they discussed the most pressing issues of the day: Canada-U.S. relations and other matters of national security.
He said the government handover will be "seamless" and "quick" and he said his official swearing-in will happen in short order.
"The good news is you'll be seeing probably more of me than you want," he joked. "We'll be coming back soon."
In addition to his sit-down with Trudeau, Carney met with Liberal MPs at a caucus meeting.
He said his message to his new team is to stay focused on solutions to Trump's trade war.
"We know this is a crucial time for our country. We're united to serve Canadians and we will build this country up," Carney said.
Carney has tapped a familiar face to serve as his chief of staff: current MP and former cabinet minister Marco Mendicino.
Sources close to the new Liberal leader told CBC News that Mendicino, who served as public safety minister under Trudeau before being shuffled out of cabinet in 2023, will serve as chief of staff as Carney shifts from leadership campaign mode to governing.
Mendicino joined Carney for the meeting with Trudeau.
A spokesperson for Carney said Mendicino's appointment is a temporary one through this transition period.
Canada does not have a long history of elected politicians serving as a prime minister's chief of staff — although Jean Pelletier, a former mayor of Quebec City, did play that role for former prime minister Jean Chrétien.
Mendicino was dropped from cabinet amid a backlash over his handling of convicted murderer Paul Bernardo's move from a maximum-security prison in Ontario to a medium-security facility in Quebec.
Former justice minister David Lametti, who was left out of cabinet in the same 2023 shuffle, is also helping with Carney's transition.
A Reuters photographer snapped a picture of Trudeau later carrying a House of Commons chair out of the West Block chamber as he winds down his time in government.
Under parliamentary rules, an outgoing MP can purchase a replica of their chair in the chamber.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was scathing in his assessment of Carney after Sunday's vote.
"He's just like Justin. He's just the same — same advisers, same staff. That will produce the same results," he said.
Sources say many of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's staff will be replaced.
Poilievre said Carney has a "disastrous history as an economic adviser" to Trudeau.
Carney offered some advice to the government at the outset of the pandemic and was recruited last fall to Trudeau's economic advisory council.
"Trump will have a briefing on his desk of all Carney's American investments and we know Carney will sell out Canada for his personal profit as an insider," Poilievre said.
It's not known how many American investments Carney holds.
As of last April, the new leader does own shares in Brookfield Asset Management, which moved its head office from Toronto to New York last year but is still publicly trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Carney was the company's board chairman before resigning to run for Liberal leadership.
Liberal MPs were jubilant Monday about Carney's landslide victory — he pulled in a stunning 86 per cent of the points, easily crushing his competitors.
"Mark Carney is what Canada needs to deal with the U.S.," said longtime Liberal MP Judy Sgro.
She said Poilievre doesn't have what it takes to stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump as Canada stares down his 51st state taunts and the threat of economic ruin.
"He's 100 miles ahead of Pierre Poilievre. He has the economic knowledge that Canada needs to build our country up. Poilievre has nowhere near that kind of knowledge — he's like a little kid compared to Carney," she said.
That message was the lips on every MP who stopped to talk to reporters ahead of the caucus meeting.
Public Services Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, himself a trained economist, said Poilievre knows nothing about the economy and would be the wrong choice at this crucial inflection point.
Poilievre served as the party's finance critic under former leaders Andrew Scheer and Erin O'Toole.
Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said the country needs an experienced person like Carney, a former central banker in both Canada and the U.K., to lead Canada through the trade war.
"Mark Carney is a very good man for this moment and I hope we can convince the Canadian people of that fact," McGuinty said.
Parties recruiting candidates
Liberal MP Kody Blois, the Atlantic caucus chair, said Carney's candidacy has been a shot in the arm for the party.
There are many more people wanting to run for the Liberals now than there were two months ago when Trudeau's popularity was at a low point, he said.
The party confirmed Sunday it already has 165 candidates lined up to run for the Liberals in the next general election.
The Conservatives, meanwhile, are well ahead in that count. A spokesperson said the party has 258 nominated candidates so far.
There are 343 ridings up for grabs — five more than the last federal vote.
Blois said Liberal "candidate recruitment is going very well" in his region in particular, with "some really strong people stepping forward."
"I really like the contrast of Carney against Pierre Poilievre who is resembling what we're seeing south of the border," he said, referring to Trump. "Carney is the mature voice we need in this moment."
"People are excited to run for us," added MP Karina Gould, who pulled about three per cent of the points in Sunday's leadership election.
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With files from CBC's Rosemary Barton and David Cochrane