Mark Carney to be sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister Friday

Mark Carney will be sworn in as Canada’s 24th prime minister at a ceremony at Rideau Hall Friday after the formal resignation of Justin Trudeau.

The newly elected Liberal leader is set to meet with Governor General Mary Simon at 11 a.m. ET in the Rideau Hall ballroom.

Carney has promised a “seamless” and “quick” transition. He has already been meeting with senior officials, including Canada’s chief of defence staff, PMO staff and Canada’s ambassador to the U.S.

Carney indicated Wednesday that he’s ready to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump if he respects Canadian sovereignty and is open to talk about a common approach to trade.

Trump has declared a trade war on Canada and continues to call for it to become the 51st state, a position that has infuriated Canadians. Trump has threatened economic coercion in his annexation threats and suggested Tuesday that the border is a fictional line.

“I am ready to sit down with President Trump at the appropriate time under a position where there is respect for Canadian sovereignty and we are working for a common approach, a much more comprehensive approach for trade,” Carney said while speaking to reporters at a steel factory in Hamilton, Ont., after Trump officially increased tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25 per cent.

Canada is the largest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the U.S.

Canada responded with its own countermeasures. It plans to impose retaliatory tariffs of $29.8 billion starting Thursday in response to the U.S. taxes on the metals. Canada’s new tariffs would be on steel and aluminum products, as well as U.S. goods, including computers, sports equipment and water heaters worth $14.2 billion.

Carney is widely expected to call an election before Parliament resumes on March 24, but cannot do that until he has been sworn in.

Carney, who has never been elected, has not said which riding he intends to seek election for a seat.

The Liberals have recently rebounded in the polls after lagging behind the Conservatives for nearly two years.

A new Leger poll suggests the federal Liberals and the Conservatives are running neck-and-neck in voter support.

The poll of Canadians’ voting intentions, released this week, has both parties sitting at 37 per cent. The survey was conducted online and cannot be assigned a margin of error.

It shows a drop of six points for the Conservatives and a seven per cent jump for Liberals since Feb. 24, while the NDP is down two per cent to 11 per cent.

Leger surveyed 1,548 Canadians between March 7 and March 10 — which means the poll wrapped up just after Liberals picked Mark Carney as the new party leader and prime minister-designate.

Files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press were used in this report