Prime Minister Mark Carney was almost president of Canada’s largest tech company, former Shopify exec Craig Miller has revealed.
Miller, who served as chief marketing officer and chief product officer (CPO) during his near-decade at Shopify, detailed his 2020 encounter with the future Prime Minister interviewing him for a job with the company in a LinkedIn post this week.
The Shopify executive team has been more politically active ahead of and during the 2025 Canadian federal election.
Miller recounted how impressed he was with Carney’s interview and thought he was the right person for the job, calling him “genuine, thoughtful, and wicked smart.”
“We were so excited about Carney that a newly created role of President was offered,” Miller said. “Ultimately, he decided to take a role at Brookfield as it was more aligned with his interest in climate and investing, but I kept a close watch on him ever since.”
Carney joined global investment firm Brookfield Asset Management as vice-chair and head of environment, social and governance in August 2020. Miller disclosed in the post that he invested in Brookfield’s Global Transition Fund, which Carney spearheaded shortly after his reported brush with Shopify.
Miller used the story of his experience to endorse Carney in this year’s election, saying he offers a “steady head in tumultuous times” and a solid plan for the future of Canada, though he doesn’t agree with all his positions.
BetaKit has reached out to the Liberal Party and Shopify for comment, but did not hear back by press time.
Miller left Shopify in September 2020 in a major executive shuffle that saw now-president Harley Finkelstein take the position Carney had declined. Shopify did not immediately replace Miller in the shakeup, allowing CEO Tobi Lütke to absorb Miller’s CPO responsibilities.
This is not Carney’s only connection to tech. He went on to join the board of American FinTech giant Stripe in 2021. Stripe CEO Patrick Collison said in an X post last month that Carney was “awesome” while on the board.
The Shopify executive team has been more politically active ahead of and during the 2025 Canadian federal election. Lütke and Shopify COO Kaz Nejatian both took to X this past week to comment on the two leading candidates in the election. Nejatian said that he voted for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre. Lütke called Carney “a great candidate,” but said the Liberal platform “commits Canada to continued economic decline.”
“Progress happens in zigs and zags- We tried this for 10 years, it’s time to zag,” Lütke wrote.
Prior to the election cycle, Shopify called on the Liberal government to “do whatever is necessary” to resolve Canada Post strike in November, and Lütke criticized Canada’s decision to impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States in February. Lütke and Finkelstein are also both involved in Build Canada, a platform for tech leaders to propose policy ideas.
Disclosure: BetaKit majority owner Good Future is the family office of two former Shopify leaders, Arati Sharma and Satish Kanwar.
Feature image courtesy Mark Carney via LinkedIn.