Ex-Bank of Canada governor Carney will enter race to replace PM Trudeau - CBC

OTTAWA, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney will announce on Thursday he is running to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as leader of the ruling Liberal Party, CBC News said on Wednesday.

Carney, 59, will launch his bid at an event in the western city of Edmonton, CBC said, citing an invitation sent by Liberal legislator George Chahal.

Trudeau announced his resignation this month amid unhappiness among legislators alarmed by the party's poor showing ahead of an election this year.

Trudeau, who took office in November 2015, will stay on until his replacement is named on March 9.

"In an era of global challenges ... Mark Carney has the experience required and the leadership skills needed to meet those challenges," CBC cited Chahal's invitation as saying.

Spokespeople for Carney and Chahal were not immediately available for comment.

Carney's main rival looks to be former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, whose resignation last month over policy differences led to Trudeau's decision to quit.

The new prime minister is unlikely to be in office for long. The minority government could be toppled in Parliament as soon as the end of March, triggering an election that polls indicate the official opposition Conservatives will win.

Carney, the only candidate who is not part of the government, has made clear he will run as an outsider with considerable financial experience.

That said, he has close ties to Trudeau, who last September named him as chair of a task force on economic growth.

In an interview with U.S. political comedian Jon Stewart this week, Carney said the government had not been as focused as it should be on housing and the cost of living.

The Conservatives say there is little difference between Carney and Trudeau.

"Carney has always been a cheerleader for Trudeau's destructive policies," Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

Carney worked for Goldman Sachs (GS) before joining the Canadian finance ministry in 2004. He was named Bank of Canada governor in 2007 and quickly had to deal with the after-effects of the global crisis in 2008.

In 2013 he took over as governor of the Bank of England, becoming the first person to ever head two major central banks.

After leaving the bank in 2020, he was appointed United Nations special envoy for climate action and finance. He is currently chair of Brookfield Asset Management (BAM). (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Alex Richardson)