Carney disclosed his intentions to a crowd in Edmonton, Alberta, the western Canadian city where he spent the bulk of his youth, promising an economic agenda focused on lifting the country from a period of stagnant growth.

The former governor of the Canadian and British central banks announced he was running to become head of the Liberal Party and prime minister.

Mark Carney, the first non-Brit to run the Bank of England since it was founded in 1694 and the former head of Canada's central bank, says he is entering the race to be Canada's next prime minister following the resignation of Justin Trudeau.