Mark Carney has been sworn in as Canada's prime minister. (Reuters: Carlos Osorio)
In Short:
Mark Carney has affirmed Canada will not become America's 51st state after he was sworn in as prime minister.
Mr Carney succeeds Justin Trudeau and says his approach will be different.
What's next?
Canada's Liberal insiders say Mr Carney will call a snap election within the next two weeks.
Ex-central banker Mark Carney has affirmed Canada will not become America's 51st state after he was sworn in as prime minister.
Mr Carney said he had no immediate plans to talk to the US president but made clear that the Trump administration's talk of annexing Canada was "crazy".
"We will never, ever in any way, shape or form, be part of the United States,"
Mr Carney said.
The new prime minister said he could work with Donald Trump, who is promising tariffs that could devastate the Canadian economy.
"We respect President Trump — President Trump has put some very important issues at the top of his agenda. We understand his agenda," he told reporters, noting he had worked with Mr Trump at international meetings.
"In many respects, part of my experience overlaps with that of the president — we're both looking out for our countries.
"But he knows, and I know from long experience, that we can find mutual solutions that win for both," he said.
Canada announces more reciprocal tariffs against US
Photo shows A coil of raw steel is moved through a Canadian factory.
Mr Carney succeeds Justin Trudeau, who had a combative and often cold relationship with Mr Trump. He said his approach would be different.
The prime minister has reshaped his 24-person cabinet with a view to dealing with Washington, cutting almost half the ministerial positions that he inherited from Mr Trudeau.
Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc is moving to the international trade portfolio and will be replaced by current Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. Foreign Minister Melanie Joly stays in her post.
Mr Carney said he would visit London and Paris next week.
Canada has sought to shore up alliances in Europe as its relations with the US sink to unprecedented lows.
Mr Carney has become the first Canadian prime minister without any serious political experience.
He crushed his rivals in a race to become leader of the ruling Liberal Party. He replaces Mr Trudeau, who spent more than nine years in office.
Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, whose shock resignation last December triggered a crisis that helped push out Mr Trudeau, becomes transport minister.
Who is Mark Carney, Canada's next PM?
Photo shows Mark Carney standing behind a podium delivering a speech in front of the Canadian flag
Mr Carney, a former head of both the Bank of Canada and Bank of England, successfully argued his position as an outsider with a history of tackling crises meant he was the best person to take on Mr Trump, who has repeatedly talked about annexing Canada.
The cabinet will likely not be in office for long, since Liberal insiders say Mr Carney will call a snap election within the next two weeks, according to Reuters.
If he changes his mind, opposition parties said they would unite to bring down the minority Liberal government in a confidence vote at the end of March.
Once the election is called, Mr Carney will be very limited in what he can do politically because convention dictates he cannot make major decisions when running for office.
Opinion polls currently suggest it will be a close race with the official opposition Conservatives, with neither party gaining enough seats for a majority government.
Reuters