Mark Carney has been elected leader of Canada’s Liberal Party in a months-long, high stakes race to replace Justin Trudeau.

He will now be expected to lead the party into the next federal elections – which must be held before October, but could be called much earlier – where he is likely to face stiff competition from the Conservative party, which is currently leading in the polls.

While Carney will take over immediately as Liberal Party leader, Trudeau will remain as Canada’s prime minister for an as-yet undisclosed transitional period while his successor settles in.

One of the biggest issues in Carney’s immediate inbox will be the country’s souring relations with the United States.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly blamed Canada for illegal immigration into the US, threatened to turn Canada into a 51st state, and impose steep tariffs on Canadian imports, which the White House says is necessary to stem the flow of fentanyl over its borders.

In his first remarks following the result of the vote, Carney referenced the tensions with the US, saying his government would “create new trading relationships with reliable trading partners.” He also vowed to keep retaliatory tariffs on the US “until the Americans show us respect.”

“New threats demand new ideas and a new plan,” he told the Liberal Party convention on Sunday.

Slamming the Trump administration’s tariff plans, Carney said of the US president, “He’s attacking Canadian families, workers, and businesses and we cannot let him succeed and we won’t.”

“In trade as in hockey, Canada will win,” he added.

The ripple effects of the tense relations with the US have spread through Canadian society, with fans at NHL and NBA games in Canada even booing the US national anthem.

Carney will now face off with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who has previously been compared to Trump but now seeks to distance himself from the US leader, reiterating at a press conference earlier this week that he is “not MAGA.”

At a rally on Sunday ahead of the Liberal vote, Poilievre delivered scathing remarks about Carney, a former governor of both the Bank of England and Bank of Canada, portraying him as a leader ill-equipped to deal with Trump.

“Working for Trudeau, Carney made Canada weaker and poorer; working for himself Carney made the United States richer and stronger,” Poilievre said.

In his remarks following the results of the vote, Carney shot back at his conservative opponent.

“Donald Trump thinks he can weaken us with his plan to divide and conquer. Pierre Poilievre’s plan will leave us divided and ready to be conquered,” Carney said.

In recent weeks, the lead enjoyed by the Conservatives has narrowed as Trudeau, Carney and other Liberal Party figures have taken strong positions on the trade dispute with the US.

Trudeau has led the party for over a decade. He took the Liberals to power in 2015, promising “sunny ways” for Canada and was elected two more times, most recently in 2021, when he remained in power but lost his governing majority.

Trudeau’s impending departure follows a series of political crises, rising economic discontent and the surprise resignation of his deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland – who was also in the race to succeed him.

In some of his last remarks as Liberal Party leader, Trudeau warned Sunday that Canadians face an “existential challenge” from the US.

“This is a nation-defining moment,” he told the Liberal leadership convention in Ottawa, ahead of Carney being announced as his successor.

“And now, as Canadians face from our neighbor an existential challenge, an economic crisis, Canadians are showing exactly what we are made of,” Trudeau said.