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Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of England, launched his campaign to become Canada’s prime minister by touting his financial expertise in a country where voters remain angry with outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s handling of the economy.

Carney A crowd in Edmonton, Alberta, on Thursday said he was performing during “extraordinary times” — an apparent reference to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Canadian exports.

Carney, who also ran CanadaBefore its move to London in 2013, Canada’s central bank said it would make the country’s economy the strongest among the G7, acknowledging that growth had been too slow, wages were too low and groceries were too expensive under Trudeau, a fellow Liberal.

“I will be incredibly focused on getting our economy back on track,” Carney said in Canada’s western province. “I’m here to ask for your support. I’m here to lead that fight.”

The Liberal challenger, most recently a New York-based executive at alternative asset manager Brookfield, has tried to portray himself as an outsider, in contrast to Pierre Poilievre, a conservative leader and politician throughout his career who has opened up a major lead. In national elections.

“I’m not the usual suspect when it comes to politics, but this is not the time for politics as usual,” Carney said.

Carney’s announcement ends months of speculation about whether the former central bank governor would try to replace Trudeau, who has announced he will… Step down as Liberal leader on January 6, after months of partisan infighting and declining poll numbers.

Chrystia Freeland, whose resignation as Trudeau’s finance minister last month sparked a Liberal leadership crisis, is expected to announce her candidacy. “I will have more to say soon,” she said. to publish On the tenth of Thursday. A person close to Freeland said she may launch her campaign in Toronto on Sunday.

Canada’s parliamentary system means that, as in the United Kingdom, the leader of the largest party in the House of Commons has the right to form a government and become Prime Minister.

If Carney wins the Liberal leadership vote on March 9, he will become Canada’s next prime minister even though he is not an elected official — unlike Freeland and Trudeau, he is not a Canadian MP. He will then lead the party into the federal elections, which must be held on or before October 20.

But Trudeau’s Liberal successor as leader could face an immediate vote of no confidence when Parliament resumes on March 24, potentially triggering a snap election.

The power vacuum in Ottawa comes at a time when tensions are rising between the United States and Canada ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Monday. President-elect Trudeau has repeatedly attacked Trudeau in recent weeks, calling Canada the United States’ “51st state” and describing Trudeau as its “governor.”

Carney resigned from his position as chairman of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management, an asset management firm with nearly $1 trillion under management. He led the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013 and the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020.

“We are sorry to see him leave, but he does so to fulfill his deep sense of public service to Canada and we wish him all the best in his new endeavour,” Brookfield CEO Bruce Flatt said in a statement Thursday.

Carney is also Chairman of Bloomberg and the UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance. Carney remained a senior advisor to the Trudeau government.

Poilievre attacked the former central bank governor for supporting Trudeau’s efforts to eliminate Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions through one of the West’s most aggressive carbon taxes — which is deeply unpopular in oil-rich Alberta, where Carney grew up.

“Carney supported the carbon tax raising the NDP tax on gas, heating and groceries, quadrupling that tax to $0.61 per liter. Just. Likes.” Justine Poilievre to publish On the tenth of Thursday.