The race is on for Canada’s next leader, and it’s still anyone’s game. But when it comes to a literal race, the competition might already have a frontrunner.
When it comes to the Liberal Party, they tend to have fit leaders–Justin Trudeau, for example, spent much of his nine years in office running. And the newly-elected prime minister, Mark Carney, appears to be no exception, boasting plenty of impressive race times. So, in a contest about speed rather than politics, could Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre keep pace with Carney?
Mark Carney–the Liberal lynx
In early March, after Trudeau stepped down, Carney, 60, was elected the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and sworn in as the 24th prime minister of Canada. More impressively, he’s a fast runner. In 2015, at age 50, Carney finished the London Marathon in 3:31:35, running an average pace of 5:01/km. He also clocked 1:40:01 at the 2013 Ottawa Half-Marathon, a pace of 4:44/km.
Carney also competed in Ottawa’s all-too-Canadian Winterlude Triathlon Bal de Neige in 2013, which consists of an 8K skate, a 5K run (where Carney clocked 23:42) and a 5K ski.
The Fort Smith, N.W.T., native has athletic genes; he was a hockey goaltender for Harvard University in the mid-80s, and his daughter, Cleo, ran cross country in high school, clocking 26:16.60 at the 2023 6K senior girls NCSSAA Championships.
Pierre Poilievre–the Conservative comet
Poilievre, 45, has the obvious advantage of being 15 years younger than Carney–but that might be the extent of it. His history of athletics includes playing hockey throughout his childhood in Calgary and competing for his high-school wrestling team until age 14. And, according to Athlinks and SportsStats, the Conservative leader has officially competed in only one race–the 10K 9 Run Run in Ottawa in 2016. Poilievre, who was 36 at the time, ran a chip time of 56:02, averaging 5:36/km.
And the winner is…
Since neither party leader has raced for nearly a decade, it’s tough to place bets on who would win in a foot race in 2025. But the stats clearly show despite being 15 years older, Carney was running nearly 50 seconds per kilometre quicker than Poilievre–so it’s safe to say the current prime minister has more speed.
The winner of other (political) race will be announced on April 28.
