The Liberal Party of Canada has recently declared Mark Carney, a former central banker and critic of Bitcoin, as the new prime minister. Carney is known for his intention to counteract the tariffs recently imposed by the United States.
Carney triumphed in the election on March 9, succeeding Justin Trudeau who was in office for over seven years. His career includes tenure as the governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013, after which he crossed the Atlantic to serve as the governor of the Bank of England for a subsequent seven years. On March 1, Carney announced that he was in the process of renouncing his UK and Irish citizenships.
Carney has been a vocal opponent of Bitcoin BTCUSD since at least March 2, 2018, when he criticized the cryptocurrency’s fixed supply cap as having “significant shortcomings”. He warned that Bitcoin’s limited supply has led to a global speculative mania and a surge in new cryptocurrencies. He also criticized Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for being unreliable stores of value in the short term.
In the same context, Carney advocated for central bank digital currencies, stating they could extend banking access and potentially help central banks in combating terrorism and economic crime.
Interestingly, Carney served on the board of payments processor Stripe from February 2021 to January 2025, a period during which Stripe incorporated a variety of crypto payment solutions.
Carney’s stance on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies seems to be even more critical than his predecessor Trudeau, who described the pro-crypto platform of opposition leader Pierre Pollievere as “reckless”.
Carney is also known for his strong stance against US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, accusing him of hurting Canadian families and attempting to undermine Canada’s economy. He has promised to maintain Canada’s retaliatory tariffs until “the Americans show us respect.”
