Mark Carney is the new Liberal leader. Read his full acceptance speech here – National

The Liberal Party has a new leader. Mark Carney, former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor, will replace Justin Trudeau in the top job. In the days to come, Carney is expected to take oath as Canada’s next prime minister.

After a landslide win in the Liberal leadership race, clinching 85.9 per cent of the vote, Carney was introduced on the stage by his daughter Cleo.

Carney thanked his family and his successor Trudeau, attacked Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and U.S. President Donald Trump and outlined his plans to win the trade war for Canada.

Here is a transcript of his speech.

Carney: This room is strong. This room is Canada strong. Thank you, Cleo. And to my wife, Diana. Our children Cleo, Tess, Amelia and Sasha. Without your support, I wouldn’t be standing here. And like the prime minister, without your examples, I wouldn’t have a purpose. And without your love, I wouldn’t have the strength that I need for what lies ahead. Thank you.

Mr. [Jean] Chrétien, you still know how to energize the Liberal Party supporters like no one else. You took courageous and historic decisions. You showed our allies that Canada will always stand up for what is just and fair. You’re a source of inspiration for all Canadians across the land. I say that you inspired my family to become Liberals, including my father to run as a Liberal candidate in Alberta in the 1980s.

Some elections are tougher than others. And you inspired me over the years. And now to have an opportunity to continue your tradition of fiscal responsibility, social justice and international leadership.

Prime Minister Trudeau, my time doesn’t permit me to recognize all of your accomplishments, so I will speak at a higher level. You have combined strength and compassion every day as a fighter for Canada. You have led us through some of the hardest challenges that this nation has ever faced.

At the same time, you have transformed Canada. You have transformed it. You have lifted hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty by moving reconciliation forward and by defending freedom and democracy here and across the world.

Thank you, sir.

Prime minister. I think I am speaking for everyone here when I thank you, as Ella-Grace said, for your hard work, for your leadership and for your service to our great country.

And I’d also like to thank you, Liberals, for having awarded me the greatest honour possible, which is to serve as your new leader. Thank you.

I’d like to thank the tens of thousands of volunteers across the country who have devoted themselves to rebuilding our country and to giving back hope to our country. I pledge to you and to all Canadians that I will follow their example. I will work day and night with one purpose, which is to build a stronger Canada for everyone.

But I will need help. I will need a lot of help. And so I’d like to thank Chrystia [Freeland], Frank [Baylis] and Karina [Gould] for your energy and ideas and leadership that you have brought to this campaign. And I would like also to thank those ministers who remained in their post to serve Canada directly during this time of great peril.

And to the incredible group of Liberal MPs that we have, you are the voices for your communities, and you are the conscience of our party. Thank you for your service. Now, to give a sense of that service, I’m going to quote from a message that I and Chrystia and Karina and Frank, the four of us received from someone called Bob Zettle. Now full disclosure — I know the leader of the Opposition is into full disclosure — so I’m going to do full disclosure.

Full disclosure, I just want to get this on the table. Bob goes to my church. Actually, I go to Bob’s church because he goes there a lot more frequently than I do.

Anyways, point is, Bob wrote to the four candidates and he said, I quote, right now everyone sees the main threat as the Trump tariffs, but the far greater challenge will be, as it always has been, to foster unity and a sense of the common good. There are those who will seek power by dividing us.

And we need — we being the people of Canada — we need you — my fellow candidates and myself — to continue in positions of leadership, to promote a united Canada, a commitment, a commitment to common good, and the respect and the rule of law throughout the world.

I quote Bob, because right now all Canadians are being asked to serve in their own ways. We’re all being called to stand up for each other and for the Canadian way of life.

So let me ask you, who’s ready? Who’s ready to stand up for Canada with me? One hundred per cent? Yes, yes. Yes, Canada. Yes, Canada. The Liberal Party is united and strong and ready to fight to build an even better country.

I feel like everything in my life has helped prepare me for this moment. Two months ago, I put up my hand to run for leader because I felt we needed big changes.

But big changes guided by strong Canadian values.

The values I learned at the dinner table from my parents, Bob and Verlie, and my three siblings, Brenda, Sean and Brian. Values that I learned at the hockey rinks of Edmonton from my coaches such as Stormin’ Norman Lee — and we didn’t call him that to his face, by the way, but that was his [nickname].

My parents were teachers, and they stressed the importance of hard work, of community and of tolerance. My coaches were dedicated volunteers who taught me the importance of teamwork, ambition and, because it’s Canada, humility.

The right values. Canadian values. I took them with me to university and I kept them close to me. When I was called upon to manage crises here in Canada and across the world, these same values have guided me in my work to build strong economies.

And today, I will use those values again as we face the most serious crisis in a generation.

Canadians know that new threats demand new ideas and a new plan. They know that new challenges demand new leadership. Canadians want positive leadership that will end division and help us build together.

And to respond, my government will put into action our plan to build a stronger economy, to create new trading relationships with reliable trading partners and to secure our borders.

I have to be clear here. This will require change. Big change. But I know that Canadians are ready. They’ve told me so across the country.

People want change because they’re concerned. They’re concerned about the cost of living and the housing crisis as well. They’re worried for the future of their young, their kids. They’re worried about the future of Canada in the face of President Trump’s threats on a more divided and dangerous world.

I am a pragmatist above all. So, when I see that something’s that’s not working, I will change it. My government will immediately eliminate the divisive consumer carbon tax on families and farmers and small and medium-sized businesses. And we will stop the hike in the capital gains tax because we think builders should be incentivized for taking risks and rewarded when they succeed. Canada needs more of this type of change. Change that puts more money in people’s pockets. Change that makes our companies more competitive. Change that builds the strongest economy in the G7.

There’s someone who’s trying to do the opposite. There’s someone who’s trying to weaken our economy.

Yeah, Donald Trump.

And Donald Trump has put, as we know [and] as the prime minister just said, unjustified tariffs on what we build, on what we sell, on how we make a living.

He’s attacking Canadian families, workers and businesses. And we cannot let him succeed. And we won’t. We won’t. I am proud of the response of Canadians who are making their voices heard, and their wallets felt.

I am grateful for how our provinces are stepping up to the fight, because when we are united, we are Canada strong.

The Canadian government has rightly retaliated with our own tariffs that will have maximum impact in the United States and minimum impact here in Canada. And my government will keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us respect. And until they can join us in making credible and reliable commitments to free and fair trade. And in the meantime, we will ensure that all proceeds from our tariffs will be used to protect our workers.

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.

In the U.S., differences are not respected or recognized. First Nations are not recognized. And the French language would never have any rights. The joie de vivre, the culture and the French language are part of our identity. We must fully protect that. We must promote that as well. We will never give them up for any trade agreement.

America is not Canada, and Canada never, ever will be part of America in any way, shape or form.

We didn’t ask for this fight. But Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves. So, the Americans, they should make no mistake. In trade, as in hockey, Canada will win.

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But that victory won’t be easy. We were facing the greatest crisis of our lifetimes. We have to do extraordinary things and together we have to build things that we’ve never imagined we would have to do at a pace we would have never believed possible. And above all, we must place people above money.

We have to unite to build the strongest, the fairest and the freest country in the world.

Donald Trump is trying to weaken our economy. But there’s someone else, who, if he succeeds, will weaken our economy.

Pierre Poilievre just doesn’t get it. He is the type of lifelong politician — and I’ve seen this type around the world — who worships at the altar of the free market despite never having made a payroll himself.

And now in the face of President Trump’s threats, Pierre Poilievre still refuses to get his security clearance, at a time when our national security is under threat as it has never been before.

At a time of immense economic insecurity, he would undermine the Bank of Canada. Poilievre has called for the shutting down of CBC at a time when disinformation and foreign interference are on the march. He insults our mayors and ignores the First Nations when it’s time to build.

He intends to put an end to international aid when democracy and human rights are in danger across the world. And he will also allow our planet to burn.

Pierre Poilievre would let our planet burn.

This is not leadership. It’s ideology. It’s ideology that betrays what we as Canadians value: each other.

It’s an ideology that also represents a fundamental misunderstanding of how the economy works. Now, unlike Pierre Poilievre, I have actually worked in the private sector. I know how the world works, and I know how it can be made to work better for all of us.

And that knowledge is especially useful now in the service of Canadians, when we must build a new economy and create new trading relationships.

Let me tell you something else that we know that Pierre Poilievre doesn’t. We know that markets don’t have values, people do. And we know, we know as liberals that it’s our job to make markets, to make the economy work for all Canadians.

These are the most powerful tool we’ve ever invented. They can find solutions to our greatest problems. And when the private sector, the markets are governed well, they deliver great jobs and stronger growth faster than anything. But markets are also indifferent to human suffering, and they are blind to our greatest needs.

So when they’re not governed well or not at all, they will deliver enormous wealth for the lucky few and hard times for the rest.

And in this crisis, we must help those who are hit hardest by the American tariffs while we build our strength here at home. That’s the right thing to do. That’s the fair thing to do. That is the Canadian thing to do. That is what makes us strong.

So Donald Trump thinks he can weaken us with his plan to divide and conquer. Pierre Poilievre’s plan will leave us divided and ready to be conquered. Because a person who worships at the altar of Donald Trump will kneel before him, not stand up to him. Pierre Poilievre’s slogans are not solutions. His anger is inaction. His division is in strength. Division won’t win a trade war. Division won’t pay the rent or the mortgage. Division won’t bring down the price of groceries. Division won’t make Canada strong.

This is where negative politics and division and anger takes us. Half of the U.S. fears the other half. They’re wary of each other. We can’t allow such a situation to occur here in Canada.

The Americans are increasingly divided, and this will weaken them. And we will win this fight if we are united and strong. Yes, we might disagree over policy. We might disagree over hockey. You can support the Oilers in Ottawa, that’s possible. It’s a free country, after all. But when it comes to Canada, we’re all on the same side. Let’s choose to be strong. Canada strong.

I’ve learned a few things from long experience in crisis. And the first is that plan beats no plan. And you need to distinguish what you can change from what you can’t. We can’t change Donald Trump. But we have to understand what we can and we must change. We are masters in our own house.

And because we’re masters in our own home, we can control our economic destiny with a plan that puts more money in your pockets. A plan that will ensure your government spends less so Canada can invest more. A plan that builds millions of homes. A plan that makes us an energy superpower in both clean and conventional energy. A plan that creates new trade corridors with reliable partners. A plan that creates one Canadian economy, not 13. Because in Canada, we are stronger when we’re united. We can give ourselves far, far more than Donald Trump can ever take away. But it will take extraordinary efforts. It won’t be business as usual. We will have to do things we haven’t imagined before at speeds we didn’t think possible. We will do it for the common good so that everyone, everyone benefits.

I do care about the economy but it’s not because I’m an economist. It’s because I care about people. That’s why I’m a Liberal. That’s why we are Liberals.

It’s clear that the value of a strong economy starts with the workers who have good, well-paying jobs today and who have a better future for them and for today’s youth. We know as Liberals that we can’t redistribute what we don’t have. We also know that we can’t be strong abroad if we’re weak at home. We also know that we cannot build a better future now if we’re unable to manage the present. So we need a strong economy.

But when we’re fighting for a strong economy, we’re fighting for good Canadian health care for everyone. We are fighting for strong support for our seniors who built this country. We are fighting for child care for young families. We are fighting for dental care and pharmacare for everyone who needs it. We are fighting for rights. We are fighting for a strong economy so we can create a more sustainable world for our children and grandchildren. And we will deliver.

I know that these are dark days — dark days brought on by a country we can no longer trust. We are getting over the shock. But let us never forget the lessons. We have to look after ourselves and we have to look out for each other. We need to pull together in the tough days ahead.

And so to those families watching this evening in Fort Smith, in Edmonton and across every community in Canada, I promise you this: together we can and we will get through this crisis. We can and we will come out stronger than ever. Because Canada is built on the strength of its people. From our mines to our ports, from our logging roads to our city streets, we’re strongest when we’re united, when we’re one economy, not 13, when we can cheer for different teams and still be on one team when it counts. When we come together, we build things that last because we are Canada strong.

 Vive le Canada.