NWT MP McLeod endorses Fort Smith-born Carney for Liberal leadership

NWT Liberal MP Michael McLeod said on Monday he was endorsing Mark Carney’s bid to become the party’s next leader.

Carney was born in Fort Smith and lived there until his family moved to Edmonton when he was six.

He is the current frontrunner to succeed Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader – and as prime minister, at least until the next election in the months ahead – based on the number of cabinet members and MPs who have declared support for him.

Carney has sought to cast himself as an outsider, while the Conservatives and leadership rival Chrystia Freeland have said he is anything but, given he acted as an advisor to Trudeau’s government in recent years. Prior to that, he served as governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England.

In a statement on Monday, McLeod – who is stepping down at the next election – said Carney was the “right person for the job at exactly the right time.”

McLeod said the Liberals under Trudeau had championed reconciliation, affordable housing and funding for Indigenous peoples, particularly “compared to the previous government” of Stephen Harper.

“We addressed all these issues and more with a seriousness and focus rarely seen by governments past, and moving forward our next leader needs to carry on with that spirit while also addressing the problems we are all feeling in terms of our cost of living,” McLeod wrote.

“For these reasons, I am proud to support Mark Carney for our next Liberal leader and as the next Prime Minister of Canada.”

Carney, McLeod continued, “is someone who I know will stand up for this country against those who wish to make life harder for everyone.”

“Mark’s northern roots and professional accomplishments will serve him well as he leads our government in addressing the issues faced by Canadians from coast to coast to coast, including right here in the Northwest Territories. I am proud to stand with Mark Carney and hope you will as well,” he concluded.

Carney would be Canada’s first prime minister from any incarnation of the Northwest Territories, a name once given to a massive stretch of the continent of North America before the gradual formation and expansion of provinces – and the creation of Nunavut – left the territory in its present shape.

The next leader of the party is due to be selected by March 9.

Whoever that leader is will face the daunting task of trying to turn around the party’s fortunes in time for a federal election that’s expected to take place just a month or two later.

At the moment, the Conservatives hold a wide advantage in national polling.