Mark Carney appears on ‘The Daily Show’ as sources say he plans to launch leadership bid in Edmonton

Mark Carney is expected to announce his bid for the federal Liberal party in Edmonton later this week. CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson reports.

A big name with Edmonton ties is expected to launch his bid to become the leader of the federal Liberal party, two sources tell CTV News Edmonton.

Mark Carney, a former governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, will begin his campaign in his hometown of Edmonton to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday, said the sources, one of them close to the campaign.

Trudeau announced last week he would step down as prime minister and Liberal leader once the party chooses his successor.

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Carney addressed Trudeau’s departure in an appearance on the American TV program “The Daily Show” on Monday night.

“I think it does give the Liberal party a chance,” Carney said when asked directly by host Jon Stewart in an interview with “The Daily Show” on Monday night.

While he was pressed several times by Stewart whether he would run to be the next Liberal leader, Carney would not answer directly.

“I just started thinking about it,” he said, with Stewart later joking to him that “you’re being so coy with me. I love the chase.”

Carney also noted during the interview that Canadians have been facing many challenges in recent years.

“Truth be told, the government has been not as focused on those issues as it could be. We need to focus on them immediately. That can happen now,” Carney said.

He is one of seven prospective Liberal leadership candidates who have forms posted on the party’s website to collect signatures they require to enter the race.

Others include former finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, cabinet ministers Karina Gould and Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal MP Chandra Arya and former MP Frank Baylis.

To launch a leadership run, each candidate must collect 300 signatures from registered Liberals, including at least 100 from three different provinces or territories.

Carney, 59, was born in Fort Smith, N.W.T., and moved with his family at a young age to Edmonton, where he attended St. Francis Xavier High School. The economist later attended Harvard University and the University of Oxford before embarking on a career in finance.

His father, Bob Carney, ran for the federal Liberal party in 1980 in the Edmonton-South riding, losing to Progressive Conservative Douglas Roche.

The vote for the Liberal leadership will be held on March 9. Candidates have to declare their intention to run by Jan. 23.

‘He showed a lot of humour’

Scott Reid, CTV News political commentator, says Carney’s strategy heading into the leadership race is clear.

“They want to demonstrate that he is a front runner, hit us with a little shock and awe, and really send a message to Liberals that there’s an opportunity here for change and renewal and to get ready fast against Pierre Poilievre,” he told CTV News Edmonton on Tuesday.

“He has the benefit of not having been directly associated with the Trudeau years. He has lots of economic and financial credentials. He’ll bring back to the table for people who worry about the economic conditions of the country and maybe perhaps some of the soft direction of the Trudeau Liberals. And he’s going to start with a lot of support,” Reid commented.

And while Carney doesn’t have a past in politics, Reid says the Stewart interview shows he could have a future.

“He performed well. He showed a lot of humour, which maybe people weren’t looking for. ‘Oh, central bank governor,’ you don’t really expect that guy to be chuckling it up at Jon Stewart, but he went, blow for blow, laugh for laugh at Jon Stewart. It was impressive to watch.”

“We’ll see in Edmonton, when he’s got a room packed with people waiting to hear from him, if he can repeat and elevate that experience.”

With files from The Canadian Press, CTV News Ottawa’s Stephanie Ha and CTV News Edmonton’s Miriam Valdes-Carletti