OTTAWA – Mark Carney has never held elected office, but for years has been touted as a future leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, and if the polling goes as expected, he is the favorite to win his party’s leadership race on Sunday.

Carney, the former governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, and Goldman Sachs executive, is expected to win the race to succeed Justin Trudeau as both the 14th Liberal leader and 24th Canadian prime minister by the party’s nearly 400,000 members.

Carney recently criticized President Donald Trump as a «bully» in a statement he released in response to American tariffs being put on the northern neighbor. «Canada will not bow down to a bully. We won’t stand by as illegal U.S. tariffs hurt our workers and their families. As Canadians, we need to face this challenge as one united team.»

Canada’s CBC reported Carney compared Trump to Harry Potter’s Voldemort in reaction to the president’s comments on making Canada the 51st state.

«When you think about what’s at stake in these ridiculous, insulting comments of the president, of what we could be, I view this as the sort of Voldemort of comments… Like I will not even repeat it, but you know what I’m talking about.»

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More than half of the Liberals’ 153-member caucus in the House of Commons has endorsed him for leader over former Cabinet ministers Chrystia Freeland and Karina Gould, as well as past member of Parliament (MP) Frank Baylis – all three of whom served in Trudeau’s government.

On fundraising, Carney has amassed the most campaign contributions with $1.3 million – or more than double what Freeland, a former foreign affairs minister, collected last month.

Polls have also shown that Carney is the frontrunner to become the next Liberal leader. Should he hold that job and automatically become Canadian prime minister as Trudeau’s successor, he would help boost his party’s fortunes at the ballot box.

A survey by the Angus Reid Institute, released on March 5, found that a Carney-led Liberal Party was only three points (37%) behind the official opposition Conservative Party, at 40%. 

The results of a Leger poll, released on March 3, reported a slightly wider margin, with the Conservatives at 41% and the Liberals, with Carney as leader, at 33%.

However, the same recent Angus Reid poll also found that 43% of Canadians believe Carney would be best suited, as prime minister, to deal with Trump, compared to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, at 34%.

Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre speaks during a «Spike the Hike – Axe the Tax» rally on March 27, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Even Poilievre has acknowledged that he will face the frontrunner in the Liberal race in the next general election, regularly calling him «Carbon Tax Carney,» with reference to the Canadian government’s consumer tax on carbon emissions that Carney initially supported. During his leadership run, the former central bank governor said he would replace it with an incentive program that rewards Canadians for «making greener choices,» such as purchasing an energy-efficient appliance.

In a Jan. 26 open letter to Carney, Poilievre asked him whether he would be «any different than the man you are trying to replace» and commit to «banning any prior Trudeau minister from serving in your Cabinet» or «pursue the same Trudeau agenda?»

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Norman Spector, who served as chief of staff to former Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, views Carney’s political-rookie status as serving him well as prime minister when dealing with the White House.

«He doesn’t start out with any baggage with Trump, and I think that’s very, very important,» said Spector. He suggested that Carney meet with the president as soon as possible to address areas where Canada and the U.S. can closely collaborate, such as on continental security.

Mark Carney officially announced his bid for the Liberal Party leadership at Laurier Heights Community League in Edmonton, Canada, on Jan. 16, 2025. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Carney cannot appear to be «Justin Trudeau in a different set of clothes or with a different resume,» John Manley, a former Canadian Liberal deputy prime minister and finance minister, told Fox News Digital.

«He’s got to be a candidate for change and be seen as the serious dude who can take on Donald Trump,» while noting that the ballot-box question in Canada has shifted from the unpopularity in Canada of Trudeau to Trump.

No longer a member of Canada’s Liberal Party, Manley said Carney has «promised to move the party back toward the center and make the economy his focus, and those would both be welcome.»

Last Wednesday, Carney said he would remove domestic trade barriers between the 10 provinces and three territories that would expand the Canadian economy by up to $140 billion.

On the same day, Trudeau and the provincial and territorial premiers agreed to do the very same to reduce reliance on trade with the U.S. in response to the Trump administration’s tariffs on Canada.

Manley said the Liberals «have got to stop focusing on identity politics,» which he said is only «important to a small band of people.»

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau waves as he leaves the offices of Salesforce on Feb. 8, 2018, in San Francisco. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

«We can’t keep fighting cultural wars. It badly hurt the Democrats in the U.S.»

He also said Carney needs to quickly call a general election before Parliament is scheduled to resume on March 24. 

Should he become Liberal leader on Sunday, Carney would also automatically become the prime minister-designate since the Liberals lead the government under Trudeau. 

The formal transition date for Carney to assume office has yet to be determined, but he would be the first Canadian prime minister to have never held elected office and would need to win a seat in the House of Commons. Therefore, the need for a national vote is also personal as it would enable Carney to run in a yet-to-be-determined riding (district) to become a member of Parliament.

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Manley, who ran for the Canadian Liberal leadership in 2003, won by former prime minister Paul Martin, said Carney will need new faces in his Cabinet.

He also sees Carney – a Harvard and Oxford universities graduate with a doctorate in economics – as holding an advantage over Poilievre in the next election.

Born in Canada’s Northwest Territories, 59-year-old Carney was also a longtime Goldman Sachs executive, who additionally served as the United Nations special envoy for climate action and finance.

Canada’s Liberals vote on a new leader on Sunday. (iStock)

By contrast, 45-year-old Poilievre has «done nothing but politics for his adult life,» said Manley.

The opposition leader was first elected as a Conservative MP for an Ottawa riding in 2004 when he was 24.

But Manley said, «Poilievre is a very effective communicator,» and Carney has to «prove that he can relate to the ordinary man on the street.»

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«Can he appeal to people who elect governments, many of whom don’t particularly read books – and may not even read newspapers?»

«Being a successful politician today requires a different skill set than it was even in my time,» he said.

A former British Conservative minister and current MP renewed his push in Parliament last week for legislation that bans first-cousin marriage, prompting opposition from the ruling Labour party, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and a British-Muslim MP.

The Conservative MP Richard Holden said during a parliamentary debate, «A marriage between first cousins carries significant health issues, many of which aren’t even knowable until post-birth.» He added, «When practiced generation after generation, there is a significant multiplier effect.»

Adverse health effects on the children of first cousin marriages have been established in medical research. Holden added that «the real impacts on the openness of our society and women’s rights in our country are significant. After all, there are significant dynamics in sharing the same set of grandparents.»

Holden urged Starmer to «think again» about blocking his legislation from moving forward. Starmer responded to Holden, stating «We’ve taken our position on that Bill, thank you.» 

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The Daily Mail reported that nearly 46% of females from the Pakistani community in Bradford, England had a «common ancestor,» according to a 2024 study. A government study showed that the number was at 62% 10 years earlier.

While the prime minister’s office did not say why they are against the bill’s codification into law, a spokesman for Starmer told Fox News Digital, «Expert advice risks on first-cousin marriages are clear. In terms of legislation and what the government set up in the King’s Speech after the election, so of course we do not want people to enter in cousin marriages.»

He continued, «We are focused on making sure every part of the govt is focused on delivering on issues that matter to the British public. We set out our legislative priorities in the King’s Speech.»

Given the large influx of migrants from the Middle East and North Africa to Scandinavian countries, the BBC reported that Norway has banned cousin marriage while a ban is expected to come into effect in Sweden next year.

The Houses of Parliament are seen in London on June 12, 2024. (Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

The failure to codify a ban on interfamily marriage among first cousins has outraged many prominent conservative voices in the United Kingdom.

Ben Habib, chairman of the Great British Political Action Committee, told Fox News Digital, «Liberalism in the U.K. is out of control. In the pursuit of allowing people to do whatever they like, sanity is being set aside. It matters not whether that which you wish to do is deeply damaging. If you’re a minority, you have a protective blanket put around you and encouraged to continue.»

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Women walk by a store in Bradford, England. A recent UK study said the number of Pakistani women in Bradford involved in cousin marriage had dropped to 46%. Ten years earlier, that number was at 62%, according to a government-funded study. (Daniel Harvey Gonzalez/In Pictures via Getty Images)

Habib added that «marrying cousins was a practice which exited Western culture over a hundred years ago. It’s now back with a vengeance. Why? Because we’ve had mass immigration from cultures which haven’t kept pace with ours. Instead of requiring them to adopt our approach, the British government allows them to continue this debilitating practice. Liberalism is reversing cultural advancement. And our government is in on the act. This insanity must stop.»

During one of the parliamentary debates on the bill, Independent MP Iqbal Mohamed, who rejects a legislative prohibition on first-cousin marriage, admitted «there are documented health risks with first-cousin marriage.» He said this is an issue that «needs greater awareness.» He, however, said the way to address this «is not to empower the state to ban adults from marrying each other.» He does not think a ban would be «effective or enforceable.» 

According to medical experts, the children of first-cousin marriages are highly vulnerable to contracting an autosomal recessive genetic disorder, 

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Mohamed said, «The matter needs to be approached as a health awareness issue and a cultural issue where women are being forced against their will to undergo marriage.»

According to Mohamed, an estimated 35% to 50% of all sub-Saharan populations prefer or accept first-cousin marriage, and it is common in the Middle East and South Asia. In July 2024, British voters pulled the plug on the Conservative Party’s 14-year reign and voted in Starmer’s leftist Labour Party.

Pope Francis is responding well to treatment and has shown a «gradual, mild improvement» in recent days as he remains in the hospital recovering from double pneumonia, the Vatican said Sunday.

«The night was quiet; the Pope is resting,» the Vatican said in a statement.

Francis, 88, was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 after a week-long bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and subsequently the onset of pneumonia in both lungs.

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This is the fourth Sunday in a row that the pope will not appear for his weekly noon blessing, but the Vatican plans to distribute the message he would have delivered.

The pope’s condition has remained stable, as he has had no fever and good oxygen levels in his blood for several days, doctors said. The doctors said that his stability «as a consequence testifies to a good response to therapy.»

This marks the first time doctors have reported that Francis, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed when he was younger, was responding well to the prescribed therapies since he was admitted to the hospital more than three weeks ago.

Pope Francis waves from his popemobile after the weekly Angelus prayers, at Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican on October 20, 2024. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty)

But his prognosis remains «guarded,» doctors said, meaning he is not yet out of danger.

Despite Francis’ absence, the Vatican’s daily operations continued alongside celebrations of its Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century Jubilee that brings pilgrims from around the world to Rome. The Holy Year is celebrating volunteers this weekend, and many are extending their pilgrimage to pray for Francis outside the hospital.

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Pope Francis attends a mass at the Esplanade of Tasitolu in Dili, East Timor, on September 10, 2024. (Tiziana Fabi/Pool/AFP/Getty)

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Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny will preside over the Holy Year Mass on Sunday for the volunteers.

The pope has been using high flows of supplemental oxygen to help him breathe during the day and a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.