OTTAWA (Reuters) – Mark Carney, who has led central banks in two Group of Seven countries, dismissed speculation he would enter Canadian politics, saying on Tuesday he would not contest an election expected soon.
Some inside the ruling Liberal Party had felt Carney, 56, might be seeking to position himself as a successor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has governed Canada since 2015.
But in a statement on Twitter, Carney said he wanted to focus on his environmental responsibilities.
Carney acts as a United Nations special envoy on climate change and finance, and is helping Britain prepare for a climate summit. He currently heads the green investment program at Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management Inc
“If there’s an election this year, I won’t be a candidate. I fully support Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party and will do everything I can to help,” he said.
“But right now global action on the climate crisis is the main thing. I made a commitment, and I’m going to keep it.”
Winning a seat in the House of Commons is seen as a required first step to contesting the leadership, as the Liberals have rarely chosen a chief from outside its ranks.
People familiar with Carney’s thinking had already played down the idea of a parliamentary run, saying he would not want to serve in the Cabinet.
Carney steered the Bank of Canada through the 2008 global financial crisis and the Bank of England through the tumult that followed the 2016 Brexit referendum, leaving that job in 2020 shortly after the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Peter Cooney)
