Mark Carney makes his leadership pitch to a skeptical Liberal caucus

Liberal MPs speak admiringly of the former central bank governor but many wonder if Mark Carney has the political chops to reverse their fortunes.

The novelist Margaret Atwood once met a neurosurgeon who told her he was a big fan of hers, that he’d read all of her books and that, when he retired, he, too, hoped to write some books.

“What a coincidence,” Atwood is said to have replied. “Because when I retire, I hope to take up neurosurgery.”

That anecdote was passed along by Rob Oliphant, the Liberal Member of Parliament for Don Valley West, when he was asked before Christmas about the type of leader the Liberals ought to turn to — should that job become vacant this week.

Oliphant was not speaking specifically about Mark Carney but that anecdote, to a professional politician like Oliphant — first elected in 2008 — is an apt metaphor for the former central bank governor.

Carney, now 59, is thinking about taking up politics after a long and successful career as an investment banker, civil servant, and central bank governor (for both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England).

In the last few weeks, he has spent many hours on the phone with Liberal MPs — seeking their advice and support for a run at the leadership of the federal Liberal Party, should that job come open in the coming days.

While Carney was unavailable for an interview Sunday, a source with knowledge of his activities said Carney has spoken to “dozens” of Liberal MPs over the Christmas break but declined to identify those MPs.

Global News sent messages to more than 40 Liberal MPs to ask about these Carney conversations, but only one has confirmed receiving a call from the former governor of the Bank of Canada. A dozen replied to say they had had not contact with Carney and the rest had yet to reply as of early Sunday evening.