Mark Carney sidesteps questions about political future after speaking with Liberal MPs

Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney sidestepped questions about his political ambitions Tuesday while saying he was honoured to be asked to advise the Liberal Party on economic policy ahead of the next federal election.

“I have a couple simple rules. One, if a prime minister of Canada asks me to do something, I will do it. I will serve, to the best of my abilities,” Carney told reporters after speaking to Liberal MPs at the party’s caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C.

“Secondly, I have some experience in these issues and I’m interested in helping our country to grow. I’m interested in doing something, not being something. And this is a decisive time for our economy. These issues have to be tackled head-on.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party announced Monday that Carney would chair a task force on economic growth and provide the Liberal leader and the party’s platform committee with recommendations after consulting with business, labour and Indigenous leaders.

But questions about whether Carney might run for the Liberal leadership dominated his brief media availability. Carney addressed a Liberal Party convention in 2021 and speculation about his political future — including a possible leadership run — has circulated for years.

“The story for today and the task that I’ve taken on is a big task, it’s an important task,” Carney said. “But I’m a catalyst in a much broader effort.”

Carney also evaded a question about a possible difference of opinion between himself and the federal government on the issue of carbon pricing. Last year, he criticized the Trudeau government’s decision to exempt home heating oil from the federal carbon tax.

“I think sometimes what happens with these issues is that the focus misses an important other aspect,” he said. “Being low-carbon is going to be a determinant of whether we can create jobs, whether we can sell our products … We have to help our companies become more competitive.”

Carney’s addition to the Liberal team comes as people in business and economic policy circles express larger concerns about economic growth and productivity. Citing a volatile international situation and economic transformation driven by decarbonization and the development of artificial intelligence, Carney said this is a “decisive time” for the Canadian economy.

“My career, if you look at it, has been in and around the interface between policy and the economy, the public and private sector. And what’s animated it throughout has been to get the private sector to work to the objectives of people … it’s to ensure the private sector provides what Canadians want. That’s the issue now, at an even higher level,” Carney said.

“What matters for Canadians, let’s be frank, it’s not a party, it’s not an individual, it’s what happens on the ground. It’s whether the country is moving toward their priorities. This is where I can help, right now, in order to move our country forward. It’s an exciting time for Canada, if we seize it.”

WATCH: Freeland welcomes Mark Carney to task force on growth  

Freeland ‘glad to welcome’ Mark Carney to Liberal caucus retreat

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters it’s great to have former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney provide advice as chair of the Liberal Party’s task force on economic growth.

Speaking to reporters earlier Tuesday morning, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland dismissed questions about whether Carney’s new role was encroaching on her area of policymaking.

“I’m really glad to welcome Mark here,” she said. “He is a real addition to our team. Mark is a personal friend of very long standing. He’s someone who I’ve talked to often about economic policy since becoming finance minister. I had a long conversation with him over the weekend.”

Freeland has noted previously that Carney is her son’s godfather.