**Liberal Leader Mark Carney, left, and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, right. For the business community, ‘The election is now much more about leadership,’ says BCE Chair Gord Nixon.**

After nearly a decade of sluggish economic growth and declining business confidence under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, many Canadian executives had shifted their support to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who promised to boost investment through tax cuts and deregulation. However, the emergence of Mark Carney — a former central bank governor and Goldman Sachs executive — as the new Liberal leader has altered the landscape ahead of the April 28 election, Bloomberg reports.

Carney, positioning himself as a pragmatic crisis manager with international experience, has garnered support from some in the business community who previously dismissed the Trudeau Liberals.

“We can’t achieve our full potential with the ideas of the far left,” Carney said, launching his leadership bid. “We can’t redistribute what we don’t have.”

His platform includes cutting capital gains taxes, softening carbon tax measures, and supporting energy exports — moves aimed at signaling a break from Trudeau-era policies.

Still, skepticism remains.

Critics like Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke and Blackberry’s former co-CEO Jim Balsillie argue Carney hasn’t fundamentally changed the Liberal Party, with Balsillie calling him a “confidence man” and “an efficient version of Mr. Trudeau.”

Some, like real estate executive Julie DiLorenzo, oppose Carney’s plans for a government-led housing entity, while others doubt his commitment to resource development.

Meanwhile, Poilievre maintains strong support among business leaders frustrated with government intervention, pledging to cut “corporate welfare” and emphasizing his alignment with entrepreneurs over corporate elites.

“The election is now much more about leadership,” said BCE Chair Gord Nixon.

In a tightly contested race, the business community appears split, with some executives openly endorsing Poilievre and others backing Carney as a centrist capable of managing Canada’s fraught relationship with a newly re-elected President Donald Trump.

“So amid close polls, the best outcome, according to Bank of Nova Scotia chief executive Scott Thomson, is simply a clear victory for a pro-growth leader,” Bloomberg wrote.