Carney promises ‘seamless’ and ‘quick’ transition after meeting PM Trudeau

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OTTAWA — Liberal Leader Mark Carney is promising a “seamless” and “quick” transition after meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Monday, but has yet to say when he intends to formally take power.

“It’ll be quick. We’ll be coming back to you soon. The good news is that you will be seeing probably more of me than you want,” Carney told reporters on Parliament Hill, pledging he would soon announce next steps.

While Carney is now officially the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, he has yet to become the prime minister, though the transition process is already well underway.

“I’m honoured by the mandate I received from the Liberal Party,” Carney told CTV News Monday on his way into a building he’ll soon be spending much more time in.

Carney won the Liberal leadership with nearly 86 per cent of the vote on Sunday, handily beating the three other candidates in all 343 ridings.

One day after his landslide win, Carney also met with the Liberal caucus, whose morale just a few months ago was as down as the party was in the polls, but who now say they have renewed optimism about their electoral chances.

“There is tremendous energy,” Carney said in his post-caucus scrum. “As you saw last evening, this is a united party.”

Trudeau, Carney talk transition

Carney’s first stop of the day was the prime minister’s office, to talk with Trudeau about how long of a transition period would be needed.

Trudeau had already said he didn’t intend to stay on in a caretaker capacity and was looking forward to handing over the reins to his “duly elected successor in the coming days or week,” but wanted to have a conversation with his successor before deciding on his official resignation date.

Heading into the meeting Carney said there was “a lot of wood to chop,” and that he was “very much looking forward” to it. Afterwards, he said they spoke “at length on issues around transition.”

“We discussed the most important issues for our country obviously, including Canada and U.S. relations, issues of national security and yes, the transition between the prime minister and myself.”

Procedurally speaking, once the men decide when the reins will be handed over, there will be a series of measures taken.

Trudeau will have to visit the Governor General and officially tender his resignation. Carney will have to swear the requisite oaths of office and allegiance and unveil his new ministry, which includes all his cabinet picks.

The current speculation is that this formal process at Rideau Hall could take place as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday.

Outgoing, incoming PMs ‘feeling good’

Asked how he was feeling on Monday morning, Carney said he was “feeling very good.”

Trudeau, also briefly caught by CTV News coming out of the House chamber on Monday, said he too is “feeling good.” Asked if that was his last time in the Commons, Trudeau said he was “not sure.”

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In his Sunday night speech marking the end of his nearly 12-year run as leader the prime minister said he was “damn proud of what we’ve done,” after once quipping that he would “never” be a politician.

Carney attended a victory party at Ottawa’s Horticulture Building in the Glebe neighbourhood on Sunday night, which was attended by around 300 people.

• RECAP: Mark Carney addresses Liberals after landslide win. Full coverage of results and the post-victory play-by-play.

But before celebrating his big win, CTV News has learned that Privy Council Office officials — the bureaucrats who support the prime minister and cabinet — pulled him into a 45-minute briefing after leaving the convention stage post-speech.

Carney has already made one major staffing decision, one that’s surprised some Liberals. Former cabinet minister and outgoing Toronto area MP Marco Mendicino is expected to step in as Carney’s chief of staff. He was seen alongside the new Liberal leader on the Hill on Monday.

‘The right person for the moment’

Carney spent some of his first afternoon on the job meeting with the Liberal caucus, with the MPs who came to town for the leadership convention meeting their new leader in-person in the caucus’ usual West Block meeting room.

On their way in, MPs spoke about potential election timing, and why they think their new leader gives Liberals a better shot at re-election, in a campaign that could be called in a matter of days.

Karina Gould, who placed third in the leadership contest, told reporters the next election “will definitely be before October.”

“I think the country is asking for an election. I do hear that. I think it’s time for a government to earn a mandate to take on what is the foremost threat right now, and that’s Donald Trump,” said Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos.

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Chrystia Freeland also attended the meeting, after coming a distant second to Carney. She told reporters she was “very excited about hearing from our new leader Mark,” and said she was “excited about us winning the next election.”

“The moment calls for us to have an experienced individual and an experienced government that has the ability to manage the very challenging circumstances that we face,” said Liberal MP Ben Carr, who endorsed Freeland. “He is the right person for the moment.”

In Carney’s post-win remarks, he thanked all of the ministers who “remained in their posts to serve Canada directly at this time of great peril.” He also called Liberal MPs “the conscience of our party.”

In a fundraising email to Liberal supporters on Monday morning, Carney said he was “deeply honoured” to be elected and “won’t let you down.”

“I’m grateful to all my fellow candidates. Each ran with passion, dedication, and a sincere desire to serve Canada. I look forward to working closely with every one of them in the days ahead,” he said.

Poilievre, Singh criticize Carney

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also spoke on Parliament Hill Monday afternoon.

The federal Conservatives started sharpening their attack lines about the new Liberal leader weeks before he was elected, as polls started to show the official opposition’s wide lead start to narrow upon Trudeau’s resignation and U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

This effort has seen Poilievre’s party roll out advertising and issue multiple statements and fundraising emails questioning Carney’s economic aptitude, his record as a Trudeau adviser, and his personal ethical disclosures.

“He’s just like Justin, and he’s more of the same,” Poilievre said. “We have the same Liberal MPs, the same Liberal advisers… who will produce the same Liberal results.”

The Conservative leader faced a series of questions from reporters about his experience, polling suggesting more Canadians trust Carney to handle Trump, and whether he’d asked his caucus and candidates to not wear “MAGA” [Make America Great Again] merchandise.

“My instruction is that we should put Canada first,” Poilievre said in response. “I’ve also made it clear to my members of Parliament that we should favour bringing jobs back to Canada, not move them to the United States of America, as Mark Carney did when he had the chance.”

This was a reference to Carney’s involvement in a decision to move the headquarters of an asset firm he chaired from Toronto to New York, around the time Trump started threatening tariffs. Carney’s campaign has said “Canadian operations were not impacted.”

Asked to comment on Poilievre’s comments about the candidate he enthusiastically backed in the leadership race, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said: “Do you think that calling people names is going to make a difference? I mean that’s the kind of politics Canadians don’t want to see.”

The federal New Democrats also quickly sought to frame Carney. In a new ad called “red flags,” a voice that’s not NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s says the new Liberal leader is focused on “making the rich richer.”

With files from CTV News’ Vassy Kapelos