Mark Carney is departing his post as governor of the Bank of Canada in favour of the same position with the Bank of England, and with him goes one of the finest minds to run this nation’s finances in recent history.
Carney assumed the top post at the Bank of Canada in 2008 and, while serving as governor, built himself a reputation as a cool-minded individual more than capable of handling this nation’s finances.
Under Carney, Canada economically outperformed its fellows in the G7. It weathered an economic storm relatively well, coming out of the recession faster and stronger than most developed nations.
As a result, Canadian businesses have been put in positions enabling aggressive expansion and growth, and Canada’s big banks have made the top 10 of Bloomberg’s world’s strongest banks list.
It is possible to claim that the appointment of Mark Carney has been the Conservative government’s single greatest move since Stephen Harper assumed the office of prime minister in February 2006.
Certainly, both Harper and finance minister Jim Flaherty have basked in the glory of Carney’s deft financial strategy, and arguably rode his performance into a majority government in the most recent election.
In his tenure, Carney has urged Canadians to reduce their household debt, guided the country’s economy through an international recession that ravaged our neighbours to the south and much of the European Union, and — in the meanwhile — has become a leader in finance internationally.
It is impossible to say how Carney’s thus-far unnamed successor will perform in the role, but the future governor undoubtedly has large shoes to fill.
That said, Canadians should be taking this opportunity to remind themselves that they need to reduce their household debt, as Carney has continuously cautioned in his interest rate announcements.
Carney will finish his tenure as governor of the Bank of Canada on June 1, 2013. He will take on his new role as the first foreign governor of the Bank of England in July 2013.
All editorials are written by the Times-Herald editorial staff.
