Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney will announce on Thursday he is running to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as leader of the ruling Liberal Party, CBC News said on Wednesday.

Canada’s governing Liberal Party will announce the country’s new prime minister March 9 after a leadership vote that follows the resignation of Justin Trudeau this week.

The frontrunners for the Liberal leadership are former central banker Mark Carney and ex-Finance Minster Chrystia Freeland.

The Liberals need to elect a new leader before Parliament resumes March 24 because all three opposition parties say they will bring down the Liberal government in a no-confidence vote.

The 59-year-old Harvard- and Oxford-educated economist kicked off his campaign at a hockey rink in Edmonton, Alberta where he grew up

Caption: Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of Canada, launches his campaign to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader. After months of speculation about his future, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney launched his campaign to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader on Thursday.

Mr Carney, who was also governor of the Bank of England, is running as an outsider with considerable financial experience. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The front runners for the Liberal leadership are former central banker Mark Carney and ex-Finance Minster Chrystia Freeland, whose abrupt resignation last month forced Trudeau's exit.

Chrystia Freeland, whose abrupt resignation as finance minister last month forced Justin Trudeau's exit as prime minister, said she is running to be the next leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister of Canada.

Chrystia Freeland has called for economic retaliation if President-elect Trump follows through with his threat to impose tariffs.

In announcing his candidacy, Carney said he had resigned from all of his commercial roles — including his position on the global advisory board of Pacific Investment Management Co.