Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, is expected to announce his candidacy for leadership of the federal Liberal Party on Thursday in his hometown of Edmonton, according to sources close to his campaign.

This announcement comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared last week his intention to step down as Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party once a successor is chosen.

Carney, who is 59 years old, is one of seven potential candidates to lead the Liberal Party, including former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, former British Columbia Premier Christy Clark, ministers Karina Gould and Jonathan Wilkinson, MP Chandra Arya, and former MP Frank Valeriote.

Each candidate must gather 300 signatures from registered members of the Liberal Party, including at least 100 signatures from three different provinces or territories, to qualify for the race.

Carney was born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, and moved with his family at a young age to Edmonton, where he attended St. Francis Xavier High School. He received his higher education at Harvard and Oxford before beginning his career in economics and finance.

It is noteworthy that his father, Bob Carney, ran for the Liberal Party in the federal election in 1980 in the Edmonton South riding, but finished in second place.

The vote to select the new leader of the Liberal Party will take place on March 9, and candidates must declare their intention to run by January 23.