Windsor Liberal MP expects quick federal election call as Carney wins party leadership

Windsor-Tecumseh Liberal MP Irek Kusmierczyk expects Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney to call an election quickly to earn a mandate to deal with American tariff threats.

Kusmierczyk talked to CBC Monday morning after Carney won the Liberal leadership race Sunday night with more than 85 per cent of the vote.

"We are ready to go, and we think it's going to come fast because we need that strong mandate to be able to deal with Donald Trump and the tariffs," he said. 

"That is going to be the question on the ticket during this election. ... Who do you trust to lead Canada through these Trump tariffs? Who's going to stand up to Donald Trump? And the choice couldn't be clearer."

Kusmierczyk supported Carney's bid for the Liberal leadership and praised him during Monday's interview, calling him the right candidate for the moment.

He touted Carney's experience guiding economies as both the governor of the Bank of Canada and the governor of the Bank of England. 

"He has that experience guiding nations through crises, and he has the experience and the message to unite Canadians," Kusmierczyk said.

"On the other side, you have Pierre Polievre, a lifelong politician who, for the last two years, his message has been one of 'Canada is broken,' and I just don't think that that is the message that resonates with Canadians today, at a time when we need to unite, when we need to show a single unified strong front to combat Donald Trump.

The Conservatives issued a news release after Carney's win, attempting to link him to rising grocery prices and unpopular Trudeau government policies, calling on him to be transparent about his financial interests and accusing him of lying about his role in a decision to move the headquarters of Brookfield, whose board he chaired, to the United States. 

"The Liberals are trying to pull a sneaky trick on Canadians," the party said in a news release. 

"They think that they can trick Canadians into reelecting them for a fourth term by replacing Justin Trudeau with Mark Carney, Trudeau's top economic advisor and hand-picked successor."

Polls have shown the Liberals closing the gap on the Conservatives since Donald Trump began threatening to make Canada a 51st state and following through with his threats to impose tariffs on Canadian goods.

"I give a lot of kudos, obviously, to Canadians," Kusmierczyk said.

"They're rallying together. They're uniting together under this threat. They recognize …that it's not just economic warfare, but our sovereignty is under direct attack, and so Canadians are rallying around Mark Carney. They're rallying around this government to be able to, again, fight these unjustified tariffs to protect Canada's sovereignty."