The year is only one month old and I’d like to nominate Mark Carney to be the 2026 Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.

The title is given to the person / group / idea who has had the biggest influence on the news and our lives over the past 12 months, ‘for better or for worse’. 

In uncertain times I’ve increasingly found myself turning to the Canadian PM for reassurance and commonsense.

Best speech I’ve ever heard

I think his speech at Davos was the best I’ve ever heard.

He started in French before switching to English but it was what he said – and how he said – that the world took note of.

Carney didn’t mention the US or President Trump by name – but he didn’t need to.

He affirmed Canada’s support for Greenland, Denmark and the Nato alliance.

His language was forceful but respectful throughout.

“Let me be direct: We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition,” he said.

“We are no longer relying on just the strength of our values, but also on the value of our strength.”

Carney’s response to the US-imposed tariffs has been masterful.

He became the first Canadian leader in nearly a decade to visit China, where he secured a trade deal.

Canada has agreed a comprehensive strategic partnership with the EU, as well as signing 12 other trade and security deals on four continents in six months.

Carney’s entire career has been punctuated by taking thoughtful but decisive action.

Who is Mark Carney?

But who is Mark Carney?

The son of two teachers he inherited his sense of public service from his parents.

Raised in a house full of books and family discussions, he went to Harvard University on a scholarship to play ice hockey.

He earned his PhD in economics from Oxford University in the 1990s, where he met his English-born wife Diana. The couple married in 1994 and have four daughters.

Carney joined Goldman Sachs, regularly working 80-hour weeks, before turning his back on the lucrative world of investment banking to join the Bank of Canada.

In 2013 he became the Governor of the Bank of England, arriving for his first day on the Tube.

He’s a family man, he’s well-read, he has a sense of humour, and uses people’s names when answering their questions.

While other talked about Canada becoming the US’s 51st state, Carney called a snap election as soon as he became PM and increased his mandate.

Carney understands technology and the power of social media – but always remains respectful.

His posts on LinkedIn are positive, speaking about how Canada is ‘stronger, more prosperous, and more secure when we are united’.

By all accounts he wrote his own speech at Davos.

I hope Sam Jacobs, editor-in-chief at Time, and his colleagues will choose Mark Carney as their 2026 Person of the Year for his positive influence on the world.

We all need to be a bit more Mark Carney.