Mark Carney Saves Canada — And Maybe the Free World

The Liberals' fourth straight win, the collapse of Poilievre’s surge, and why Carney’s steady hand at the G7 may be the first real hope in a long time.

Whoof. What a relief.

Mark Carney has won. The next prime minister of Canada is a man soaked in economics, and one who knows how to govern through complexity. Carney cemented the Liberals' fourth straight term in power — a rare feat in Canadian politics — while holding off the Conservative Party led by Pierre Poilievre.

To be honest, I was worried about this election.

Not quite the nervous wreck I was during Germany's national elections back in February 2025 — that time, I was calling and texting every German friend I had, urging them to show up. I didn’t tell them who to vote for. I didn’t need to. Most of my friends wouldn't have backed the hate machine anyway. All they needed was a nudge to show up.

The global hate machine has been on one hell of a ride since Covid — gaining ground almost everywhere. And it nearly captured Canada this year.

At their peak, the Conservatives were ahead by 25 points — an unimaginable lead. Then Donald Trump started talking — and the lead shrank. Then Trump started governing — and it shrank further. Justin Trudeau's exit, combined with Mark Carney’s elevation, pulled the anti-incumbency poison out of the Liberal brand — and cracked the momentum of the right.

Pollievre must have quietly cried when he saw Donald Trump throwing his full weight behind him on the eve of the election. Trump’s "endorsement" — if you can call it that — may have shaved a few final points off Pollievre’s support.

Here’s the post Trump fired off to the world:

Good luck to the Great people of Canada. Elect the man who has the strength and wisdom to cut your taxes in half, increase your military power, for free, to the highest level in the World, have your Car, Steel, Aluminum, Lumber, Energy, and all other businesses, QUADRUPLE in size, WITH ZERO TARIFFS OR TAXES, if Canada becomes the cherished 51st. State of the United States of America. No more artificially drawn line from many years ago. Look how beautiful this land mass would be. Free access with NO BORDER. ALL POSITIVES WITH NO NEGATIVES. IT WAS MEANT TO BE! America can no longer subsidize Canada with the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year that we have been spending in the past. It makes no sense unless Canada is a State!
— Donald Trump, Apr 28, 2025

Not just Canada — the entire world can now heave a sigh of relief.

Had it gone the other way, Europe — the last democratic bastion — would have been mercilessly squeezed:

• Trump’s America and a captured Canada hammering from the west

• Putin pressing harder from the east.

It would have been a practical siege on the democratic world. Now, the world no longer has to spend sleepless nights trying to keep Donald Trump's economic idiosyncrasies in check. Instead, they can give Mark Carney the microphone during G7 meetings — and bring their notebooks.

Carney, the only man in history to have successfully led two central banks — in Canada and the UK — commands trust few can replicate. Just having him sit at the table will calm fraying nerves.

It’s like having the best surgeon in the country attend your pre-surgery briefing: You don’t sleep better because the danger is gone — you sleep better because you know the right hands are preparing.

Mark Carney is no fool about the stakes either. He has already made it clear: the old relationship with the United States is over. But — and this matters — he’s not walking away from negotiation. It’s a clean break from Trudeau’s escape-first policy. Carney understands that in the current reality, you have to soften the blows —but also quietly and relentlessly prepare for what comes next.

And now, for the first time in a long time, the free world has a star team again:

• Carney. (Canada)

• Starmer. (United Kingdom)

• Macron. (France)

• Merz. (Germany)

Their path won't be easy.

Transitions never are.

But that’s exactly why the yields will be higher if they succeed. Hard work, strategic patience, and relentless clarity. That’s the future now. And Mark Carney is already at the front of the room, preparing the world for the long road ahead.