Carney receiving national security briefings ahead of swearing-in

Liberal Leader Mark Carney talks to media as he leaves a caucus meeting in Ottawa on Monday, March 10, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Prime minister-designate Mark Carney is spending part of his second day as Liberal leader meeting with the heads of Canada’s national security agencies, CTV News has learned.

According to a source close to Carney, he is receiving national security briefings days ahead of his anticipated swearing-in as prime minister of Canada.

Posts on social media show Carney also had meetings in the Ottawa area with Canada’s ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman, the fentanyl czar Kevin Brosseau and the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Jennie Carignan.

It comes as a spokesperson for Carney tells CTV News, the former governor of the banks of England and Canada has divested all his assets into a blind trust.

“The signed blind trust document was sent to the ethics commissioner when the results were announced yesterday [Sunday] evening,” said a spokesperson for the prime minister-designate.

Carney’s team has been working with the ethics commissioner and “we have delivered a full and robust conflict of interest management plan,” the spokesperson told CTV News.

A source speaking on background tells CTV News Carney now owns nothing other than cash and real estate. The source adds the prime minister-designate also divested a number of assets into the blind trust that are not required by the Conflict of Interest Act.

A spokesperson from the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner confirmed to CTV News they have been in touch with Carney’s team. Carney will only become subject to the Conflict of Interest Act once he has been appointed prime minister by the Governor General acting on the advice of cabinet.

“Under the Act, Mr. Carney will have 60 days to confidentially disclose to the Commissioner all his assets, liabilities, income and outside activities,” Michael Wrobel, communications officer for the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, said in a statement to CTV News.

“The Commissioner’s Office will review that information and advise him on how to arrange his affairs to avoid conflicts of interest and comply with the Act,” added Wrobel.

According to a backgrounder document from the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, public office holders are prohibited from holding controlled assets. Those assets include stocks and bonds, whose value could be directly or indirectly affected by government policies or decisions.

“Within 120 days after their appointment, they [reporting public officer holders] must divest any controlled assets that they hold, either by selling them in an arm’s length transaction, or by placing them in a blind trust for as long as they remain in public office or until the trust assets have been depleted,” says the document on the commissioner’s website.

Last week, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre proposed changes to the Conflict of Interest Act – if elected – that would require leadership candidates to disclose their finances within 30 days of becoming an official candidate, and make them available to Canadians within 60 days.

Poilievre also wants all future prime ministers and ministers to “sell assets that create conflicts of interests to stop politicians from ever using political office for their own benefit,” according to the Conservative party.

With files from CTV News’ Stephanie Ha