David McGuinty throws support behind Mark Carney for Liberal leadership

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As Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney shook hands, roasted marshmallows and talked to young hockey players at a South Ottawa community event Sunday afternoon, he received the ringing endorsement of Public Safety Minister David McGuinty.

“Now is the appropriate time,” said McGuinty, who has served Ottawa South in Parliament since 2004. “I think Mark Carney represents the kind of ability, the kind of experience that we need at this time. It’s a very important time for Canada, on the Canada-U.S. front, on the global front.”

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McGuinty, who has been front and centre in the Canada-U.S. tariff war himself — as public safety minister, he’s leading the search to find a fentanyl czar to help satisfy the concerns of U.S. President Donald Trump — says Carney has the right makeup to lead the Liberal party into the federal election against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

Carney’s background includes serving as the governor of the Bank of Canada during a recession and the Bank of England during Brexit.

“We need somebody who can help guide us through some turbulent waters right now, and I’ve known him for quite a long time,” said McGuinty. “There’s a kind of discipline and calmness about him that’s derived from experience on the fiscal side. He’s been through the turbulence of the U.K., Brexit, all that implied, which was very, very heavy.”

Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, former House leader Karina Gould and Liberal MPs Frank Baylis and Ruby Dhalla are also running for the Liberal leadership to replace outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The Liberals will make the decision on their new leader, who will automatically become interim prime minister, on March 9. The announcement of a federal election will come next.

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“I also think this is a good opportunity for our party to come back together, which I think it will,” McGuinty said. “I’m very fond of all the candidates who are running. I’ve served with them for many years, but I think, at this stage, Mark Carney represents the kind of leadership that we need.”

Carney, of course, is not currently a member of Parliament. He will need to find a riding to run in if he does succeed in his quest to lead the Liberals into the election.

Ottawa South has voted Liberal since 1988, including a 16-year stretch with John Manley representing the district in the House of Commons before McGuinty. While there had been some speculation that McGuinty might step aside to allow Carney to run in Ottawa South, he poured cold water on that idea Sunday.

“Look, I’m running again,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for 21 years and I’ve had the privilege of serving these folks and so I’m fully prepared to go forward. For me, we’re getting prepared. Our campaign team is coming together. We’re looking for the campaign office right now. The signs are ready to go.”

Carney was not speaking publicly Sunday, but he was joined at the hip with McGuinty as the two walked through the small winter carnival event at Balena Park.

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They exchanged small talk and handshakes as they made their way through the crowd.

Carney spent a couple of minutes at a fire pit, advising a young boy about the nuances of a perfectly roasted marshmallow. A former goaltender, he later settled into the net on the community rink with a goalie stick in his hands and posed for pictures.

Carney also mentioned that he’ll be cheering for Canada loudly as it takes on the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal on Feb. 15.

Sunday’s walk in the park was a somewhat light moment amid the never-ending tension of heated Canada-U.S. relations.

Last week, Trump pressed the pause button on his plan to impose heavy tariffs on Canadian goods — 10 per cent on oil and gas products and 25 per cent on everything else — after speaking with Trudeau. Trump said he would revisit the Canadian tariff issue in early March.

In exchange for the reprieve, Trudeau agreed to many of Trump’s demands to tighten the border against illegal immigration and drugs. That included the appointment of a fentanyl czar, a task that has become McGuinty’s top priority.

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“We’re on it,” McGuinty said Sunday. “We’re working very hard to get this thing pulled together. There’s some urgency to this, of course, and we know that.”

Should Carney become Liberal leader, he’ll be thrust into the spotlight of dealing directly with Trump.

A poll conducted by Nanos Research last week suggested Canadians do trust Carney on that front. The survey showed that 39.6 per cent of respondents considered Carney the most qualified to negotiate with Trump, compared to 26 per cent for Poilievre and 13 per cent for Freeland.

McGuinty believes there is some momentum building for Carney in what he described as a “turning point” in Canadian history.

“This is a very big thing, it’s very difficult,” he said. “I think he’s making a difference in terms of his experience, his background, his calmness, his discipline, the methodical way he addresses issues. I think it’s going to be very important for us and I look forward to serving under him as the prime minister of Canada.”

kwarren@postmedia.com

X: Citizenkwarren

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