Why Mark Carney is dropping both his Irish and U.K. passports
CBC
St. Patrick's Day may be just around the corner, but it seems Mark Carney can no longer truly claim to be Irish, as Canada's new prime minister moved to renounce both his Irish and U.K. citizenships, prior to starting his new job.
Carney had acquired Irish citizenship through his family ancestry and got his U.K. passport while working overseas as the governor of the Bank of England.
He has said that, while many MPs have multiple citizenships, "as prime minister, I should only hold one."
Indeed, several million Canadians report holding more than one citizenship, while very few prime ministers have done the same.
Having ties to more than one country can complicate a politician's life.
"It's less complicated if you just have one citizenship," said Kathy Brock, a professor emerita of politics at Queen's University. Being entrusted with state secrets can prompt voter concerns about loyalties if more than one citizenship is in the mix, she says, and that's separate from any attacks from political opponents along the same lines.
Brock sees the renunciations as Carney signalling his commitment to his new job.
It could not only help him on the domestic front, but could also prevent a possible line of attack from south of the border.
"Think about it if Carney did have British and Canadian citizenship and how much fun [U.S. President Donald] Trump would have with that," she said, suggesting it could allow Trump to prod Carney over whose views he was representing.
There's no rule against prime ministers having dual citizenship but, says Laura Stephenson, a Western University professor of political science: "You want your prime ministers to be dedicated to the country that they're governing."
Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, points out that there wasn't such thing as Canadian citizenship until 1947. So any prime ministers before then wouldn't have faced this issue.
In fact, three of the earliest — John A. Macdonald, Alexander Mackenzie and Mackenzie Bowell — were born on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Likewise, the English-born John Turner held dual citizenship during his brief tenure as prime minister in 1984. But the six who followed Turner did not.
Canada's opposition leaders, however, have recently and repeatedly been confronted on this issue.
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