Not too long ago, Carney wasn’t the frontrunner in this race. It was Chrystia Freeland. Her abrupt departure and resignation letter, in which she implied the prime minister was wasting time on “costly political gimmicks,” not only precipitated Trudeau’s resignation but also initially positioned her as a strong candidate to replace him. It probably wasn’t until Carney showed up on The Daily Show, affably chuckling with Jon Stewart, that people started to think he might just have the chops for this sort of thing.

And in fairness to Carney—or just “Mark,” as he told everyone during his campaign launch—he did, for the most part.

If you answered yes, you are not alone. Democracy and civil dialogue are in retreat around the world. In the past few weeks, we have been forced into a tariff war, seen the death of diplomacy on live TV, heard threats of Canada becoming the 51st state of the United States, and have felt ripple effects of axed international aid, public health, and immigration changes well beyond our borders. At best, these are confusing and worrying times. At worst, the future of civil society is at stake.

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