A face hit the ice at Rogers Place Thursday as Prime Minister Mark Carney joined the Edmonton Oilers for practice.
Carney is in Edmonton following the government’s announcement that it would invest $187 million in repairing and rebuilding critical infrastructure in Jasper after last summer’s devastating fires. According to The Canadian Press, he also met with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith earlier in the morning and would make an affordable housing announcement later in the day.
A native of Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Carney’s family moved to Edmonton when he was six, later attending St. Francis Xavier High School. Attending Harvard University, he was the varsity hockey team’s backup goaltender and was roommates with former Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli, and Mark Benning, the father of former Oilers defenceman Matt Benning.
Carney, 60, has stayed true to his roots, cheering for his “hometown” through and through, with his roots as a hockey fan later following him to Oxford University, where he was a co-captain of their hockey team.
“I’m an Oilers fan,” he told the Edmonton Journal in a 2009 article. ” I’ve followed the Oilers ever since I left. I mean, I obviously grew up in the salad days of Gretzky, Messier and Paul Coffey and I’ve followed them through thick and thin. I’m pulling for MacT and the boys to pull it out yet again and get into the playoffs.”
Oilers captain Connor McDavid said Thursday it was unique to have him skate with the team.
“It was nice to have him here,” McDavid said. “He’s a lifelong Oilers fan, and Oilers fans are welcome here, for sure. It was definitely a unique thing.”
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch, meanwhile, called it a special moment for the organization.
“It’s a special moment for the organization to have the Prime Minister here with the team,” he said. “I assume not too many Prime Ministers have been Oilers fans, so it’s been nice to have one who cheers for the good team.”
While Carney may not be lacing up the skates for a battle on the ice, CBC reported Thursday he would be dissolving Parliament Sunday and calling an election, which would take place on either April 28th or May 5th. With former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stepping down from his post as the country’s leader and the leader of the Federal Liberal party, Carney ran for the leadership of the party, winning on the first ballot and securing 85.9 percent of the membership’s vote.
He was sworn in as Canada’s 24th Prime Minister on March 14th, becoming the latest of many PM’s in the country’s 157-year history to be appointed to the seat.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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