Mark Carney Sworn in as Canada’s prime minister, vows to defend sovereignty and economy

Mark Carney, has been sworn in as Canada’s new prime minister, vowing to protect the sovereignty of Canada and strengthen its economy.

The 59-year-old ex-central banker took the oath of office on Friday, with Governor General Mary Simon — the personal representative of King Charles, who is Canada’s head of state — presiding over the ceremony at Rideau Hall in the capital, Ottawa.

“We know that by building together, we can give ourselves far more than anyone else can take away,” he said after the ceremony.

“We will never, in any shape or form, be part of the US,” Carney told reporters in Ottawa on Friday, referring to Trump’s musings that Canada join the US as its “51st state”.

“We are very fundamentally a different country,” he said, later adding the notion is “crazy”.

Read also: Mark Carney: From central banker to Canada’s new Prime Minister

Cabinet reshuffling and reduction

They include Mélanie Joly, who remains in foreign affairs; David McGuinty, who remains in public safety; Jonathan Wilkinson, staying on as energy minister; Dominic Leblanc, who has moved from finance to trade; and François-Philippe Champagne, moved from industry to finance.

“Canada’s new government is changing how we work, so we can deliver better results faster to all Canadians. We have new ministers with new ideas, ready to respond to new threats and to seize new opportunities,” Carney said on Friday.

“ Our leaner cabinet will focus on two priorities in particular: first, protecting Canadian workers and their families in the face of unjustified foreign trade actions. And second, growing this great country by putting more money in Canadians’ pockets.”

“Canada’s new government will be action-oriented, driven by a smaller but highly experienced team made to meet the moment we are in.”

In his first order as prime minister, Carney moved to end a policy that had been frequently attacked against by political opponents.

Read also: Mark Carney wins race to replace Trudeau as Prime Minister

He ended the consumer carbon pricing programme – a key environmental policy under Trudeau that had become deeply unpopular in recent years amid high inflation.

Conservatives have criticised the tax, saying it raised the price of goods and energy for Canadian families.

Carney said his government will still take steps to fight climate change. An industrial carbon tax on large emitters remains in place.

Canadians receive a rebate to offset the cost of carbon pricing and will get their final cheque in April.

Trump’s Tariff

Canadian politics in recent months have largely been overshadowed by the trade war Trump launched after taking office in January – Carney had pitched himself as the best equipped candidate to take on Trump.

He intends to travel to the UK and France as his first foreign trip as PM next week. Carney has also said that he also looks forward to speaking with Trump.

“We respect the United States. We respect President Trump,” he said after the swearing in ceremony.

“President Trump has put some very important issues at the top of his agenda.”

Carney has promised to uphold Canada’s reciprocal tariffs on specific American goods for as long as Trump maintains 25% universal tariffs on Canadian goods not covered by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) trade deal.

He pledged to uphold Canada’s interests in the face of tariff threats from the United States President.