Diana Carney readies for England

She’s been dubbed an “eco-warrior” by the British press, and had her marriage to upcoming Bank of England Governor Mark Carney scrutinized, before the Canadian couple has even moved across the pond.

But Diana Carney, vice president of research at left-leaning think-tank Canada 2020, believes she will be ready for British life when her husband begins his five-year term starting July 2013.

“We’ll do our best. I think we’re both pretty confident in who we are,” Carney said during an interview on the Global News program The West Block with Tom Clark.

“My husband was brought in to bring new ideas and fresh thinking to the Bank of England, and I would hope that I can bring some ideas from Canada in the policy environment and learn from the U.K., but also inject some perhaps new thinking in some of the areas with which we’re mutually dealing with the same issues.”

For Carney, the defining issue is income inequality – one she says has also been at the forefront in the U.K.

“It’s been a big priority for the Deputy Prime Minister (Nick Clegg) and they have a commission on what they call social mobility and I hope that I can continue working in this area and see if we can make some headway.”

While Carney admits the middle class in Canada isn’t doing as badly as in other countries, the important thing is that those in the middle feel as though they’re doing really badly – and that could be a sign of generational change to come.

“If you look at polling recently, income equality is a top issue. A majority of people polled now feel that they will be doing worse in a generation than they are doing now, which is a fundamental change,” she said.

Carney pointed to education as a key factor in resolving inequality as well as lack of productivity in Canada.

“It’s a question of investing in the institutions that have helped us be where we are and should help us maintain that position,” she said.

“Making sure that our education is relevant for the jobs that come forward, and making sure that we don’t lose the group that are not going into post-secondary education presently is critical for both productivity and income inequality.”

Although her husband has been a rumoured candidate for the Liberal party, Carney didn’t bite when asked if she had political ambitions – for now.

“I think I’ll be doing some other things for the foreseeable future.”