Canada: More Wokism in Government

A former Governor of the Bank of Canada (2008-2013) and the Bank of England (2013-2020), Mark Carney embodies, according to his opponents in the Conservative Party, the archetypal "Davos Man." After studying at Harvard, he earned a doctorate from Oxford, before joining Goldman Sachs, where he spent 13 years.

This Catholic—who does not classify himself as a conservative in the Church—is described as a global leader, moving like a fish in water in the spheres of international finance. And, as is fitting, he carries a project largely inspired by progressive ideology that places the sacrosanct "inclusion"—social, economic, and environmental—at the heart of its priorities.

The emergence of the new Prime Minister coincides with a severe crisis in his history due to the trade war launched by the new occupant of the White House, who has just decided to impose tariffs on many Canadian products, while calling for Canada to join the Federation as the "fifty-first American state."

More broadly, Donald Trump's return to power has led, in Canada as well as elsewhere in the Old Continent, to a form of collective hysteria among the "elites" who, arrogating to themselves the right to represent the "camp of good," intend to wage war on anti-wokeism. It must be said that the tycoon who had been elected to power in the United States had plenty of scathing words to say about Justin Trudeau's openly woke policies.

So, in February 2025, a few days before being elected leader of the Liberal Party that would open the doors of Rideau Cottage to him, Mark Carney declared: "As America wages a war on wokeness, Canadians will continue to value inclusivity."

And for good measure, during his speech on March 9, 2025, the new Liberal leader made subtle references to "human dignity" and "shared responsibility" in the face of climate change. The new head of government is known for championing the concept of the "tragedy of the horizons."

He advocated for businesses and banks to factor environmental costs into their decisions, an approach that protects not only the planet, but also the populations most exposed to climate disasters—often the poorest. These are all themes that echo those championed by Pope Francis, particularly around integral ecology, throughout his pontificate.

Lord Moynihan, former chairman of the Brexit Vote-Leave movement, pulls no punches when describing the new Canadian head of government in The Toronto Sun: "He embodies the quintessence of homus wokus," the Tory member asserts. 

Even former British minister Jacob Rees-Mogg echoes the same sentiment: "Carney is one of those who believes that a small group of experts can manage things better than a noisy and dynamic democracy."

It's hard to imagine any change of direction in the near future in a country where Justin Trudeau has taken pains to legislate the woke agenda: expanding euthanasia in 2016; changing the lyrics of the national anthem to be more inclusive that same year; public subsidies for LGBT groups; and "reconciliation" with Indigenous peoples—at the expense of the Catholic Church, which has been indiscriminately accused of mistreatment.