New federal Liberal leader must be ready to defend against U.S. threats, say N.B. MP, prof

Hannah Rudderham · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 10, 2025 9:20 AM EDT | Last Updated: March 10

When Mark Carney took location the Liberal enactment Sunday night, making him premier minister-designate, Saint John-Rothesay MP Wayne Long took to societal media with the message, "Well it looks similar I'm back!"

Long, who announced 2 years agone that helium wouldn't tally successful the adjacent predetermination and had pushed for Justin Trudeau to resign arsenic premier minister, said Carney's triumph changed his mind.

The anticipation of moving again was acceptable successful motion, Long said, erstwhile Carney called him, shared his imaginativeness for the state and asked if Long would reconsider. 

"To beryllium perfectly blunt and honest, cipher successful the erstwhile authorities asked maine to reconsider," helium said, who has already filed papers to tally in the riding present called Saint John–Kennebecasis.

Carney was elected Sunday nighttime arsenic Liberal Party of Canada person with 85.9 per cent of the vote. A day hasn't yet been acceptable for him to instrumentality bureau and helium has to archetypal beryllium sworn successful by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon.

Long said helium thinks Carney was viewed arsenic a information broad by galore successful the look of U.S. President Donald Trump's ongoing tariff and annexation threats.

"I mean, the ballot question implicit the past mates months has changed from, you know, axe the tax, and Canada is broken, to who's champion suited and who's champion qualified to support our country," helium said.

"We are under, I would argue, the top menace that this country's ever had to its sovereignty and, you know, to its economy."

LISTEN: MP Wayne Long connected however Mark Carney's win is changing politics — and his ain career:

Long said helium thinks Liberals and Conservatives tin hold that Carney, a erstwhile politician of the Bank of Canada, has the economical acquisition to support the state against Trump's threats. 

Mario Levesque, an subordinate prof successful nationalist argumentation astatine Mount Allison University, said helium thinks the Liberals chose  Carney arsenic person due to the fact that helium is little associated with Trudeau, dissimilar 2 different candidates, MPs Chrystia Freeland and Liberal MP Karina Gould, for example, who some served successful Trudeau's cabinet.

Levesque said if Carney wants to beryllium himself against Conservative Leader Pierre Pollievre, helium volition request to proceed dissociating himself from the past Liberal government.

Levesque said Carney has already started removing himself from the past government, for example, by promising to marque changes to the c tax. 

But Levesque said Carney volition besides request to beryllium seen arsenic having a bosom by keeping galore societal programs successful place, and besides putting distant a "Canada-first" attack to combat the United States's economical attack.

With Carney's Liberal enactment win, Levesque said, Pollievre and the Conservatives besides person an uphill conflict to support their existent lead.

"I deliberation for them, it's trying to place who the nationalist force fig 1 is," helium said.

"Before, it was the c taxation and Justin Trudeau. Well, some are gone now. So what's their identity? 

"The occupation with the Conservatives is they did not cultivate different individuality extracurricular of those things. So present they're trying to pivot and to onslaught Carney and his economical credentials."

Levesque said his prediction going guardant is that aft Carney is sworn successful arsenic premier curate and names his cabinet, helium volition telephone an predetermination aboriginal successful March.

If that happens, Levesque said it would marque for an absorbing outpouring with a imaginable national predetermination landing astatine the extremity of April oregon aboriginal May. 

"Lots to travel and tons to ticker arsenic well, but very, precise busy, though," said Levesque.

"And of course, the chaotic paper successful each of this is, what volition Trump bash successful the meantime?"