US Democrats meeting with Mark Carney: report

In May and June, Mark Carney sat down and met with Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA). According to an interview with Josh Shapiro, the two met in early June, and what was supposed to be a quick chat turned into a more than 30-minute-long conversation. During the meeting, Shapiro made it clear that he was aligned with Carney’s views on Canadian sovereignty and is committed to recreating a tariff-free trade agreement between Pennsylvania and Canada.

Shapiro is expected to run for President in 2028, and by shoring up his relationship with Carney and Canada, he’s sending a message to potential voters: he is not Donald Trump, and he is not pro-trade war. Buttigieg and Slotkin, Carney’s other two meetings, have also been floated as being potential Presidential candidates for 2028. Both politicians met with Carney earlier in May to reaffirm their support for Canadian sovereignty and to discuss a path moving forward post-Trump.

Josh Shapiro confirmed that it was Carney who originally contacted him regarding a potential meeting. According to Shapiro, the meeting was only supposed to be five minutes long, but ended up lasting more than 30 minutes. Shapiro admitted to being a fan of Carney’s leadership style and spoke with admiration of Carney’s now-famous ‘middle powers’ speech at Davos. 

For some Democrats, Carney represents qualities they believe have become increasingly rare in American politics. Carney has emerged as a leader dedicated to centrist values. Carney is a very traditional capitalist, someone who is not particularly ideological, but instead focused on discussing things in detailed terms and making decisions for economic stability. American politics have taken a dangerous turn towards far-right, nationalist ideologies since 2016, and Canadian politics seemed to be going the same direction up until Trump was elected in 2024. After Trump came out as a true authoritarian, Canadians balked at Pierre Poilievre’s mini-Trump style and ran back to safety: the centre. Mark Carney emerged as the perfect man for the job, a mix of traditional conservative politics with the empathy of the Liberals. It’s entirely possible the Democratic Party will be looking towards Carney as a roadmap to success.

The successful rise of social democrats in the US plays an interesting part in this story. Social Democrats have been taking the US by storm recently. Zohran Mamdani’s list of successes in New York is growing more impressive by the day, and socialist candidates are experiencing success in secure blue ridings across the US. Multiple leftist candidates found success during the 2026 congressional primaries, with Mamdani having endorsed them. With Federal politics swinging dangerously to the right, municipal and congressional politics seem to be swinging left.

This is a trend that is scaring some Democrats, who think of themselves as ideologically centrist. This is where Mark Carney presents an opportunity. By advertising himself as being reasonable and steady above all else, he is providing a roadmap for centrist democrats to follow. Instead of the passionate, ideological (and effective) politics of social democrats and leftists, Carney is an example of old-style centrist conservatism. Carney’s success is fueling conversations among Democratic strategists searching for candidates capable of appealing to moderate voters while maintaining support among traditional centre-left constituencies.