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Justin Trudeau announcement that he will resign in the coming months means that the Liberal Party of Canada needs a new leader. With the government likely to fall when parliament returns in March, the party will be keen to appoint someone as soon as possible.
The party’s national board will meet this week to begin the process, which in the past has taken months. Polls indicate the Liberals are on track to lose the election no matter who leads the party, which may discourage some potential candidates. In the meantime, here’s a look at some of the people who could throw their hat in the ring.
The party has historically drawn its leaders almost exclusively from Ontario and Quebec, but three of the potential candidates – Chrystia Freeland, Mark Carney and Christy Clark – have ties to Western Canada, which could broaden the party’s appeal in a region dominated by the Conservatives.
christia freeland
The former finance minister and deputy prime minister is believed to have prompted Trudeau’s resignation announcement. making your own three weeks ago. She was once a key ally of the prime minister, but resigned over disagreements with him over how to deal with the incoming Trump administration’s threat to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods and services.
In his resignation letter, he was scathing, warning Trudeau against “expensive political tricks” and warning that the country faced “a serious challenge.”
Freeland has established herself as a trusted and long-standing member of Trudeau’s cabinet since he became prime minister in 2015, and has worked across several cabinet portfolios, including foreign affairs and international trade. She is known for skillfully renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement with the first Trump administration, which ensured Canada’s access to the US market despite Trump’s policy.
The former journalist is seen as one of the favorites in the race to replace Trudeau.
Marcos Carney
He former governor of the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada He has long been considered a possible cabinet minister, and Trudeau confirmed in 2024 that he had been encouraging him to enter federal politics; Indeed, relations between Freeland and Trudeau were also understood to have deteriorated amid accusations that he wanted to replace her with Carney.
In a statement Monday, Carney, 59, He said he would “consider this decision closely with my family over the coming days.”. His financial credentials at a time of global economic crisis are seen by some as an advantage, but there is some skepticism about his candidacy given that he has never previously held political office.
Tradition dictates that Carney, now chairman of Brookfield Asset Management, would need to secure a seat in parliament in order to take office if he wins the party leadership.
Champagne François-Philippe
Champagne has held several senior cabinet positions since 2018, including foreign affairs, and is now Minister of Innovation.
He has often been characterized as an “Energizer bunny” and He is credited with securing several lucrative deals for Canada.including a C$2.8 billion deal with Stellantis to boost electric vehicle production in Canada and a C$7 billion project with Volkswagen to build its first gigafactory outside Europe.
That business acumen, as well as his charm and optimism, could serve him well in a liberal leadership role. He was also born in Quebec, a province that has often been key to winning federal elections.
Melanie Joly
Just a few weeks before the announcement of Trudeau’s resignation, the New York Times declared in a lengthy article that the Foreign Minister was one of the “main candidates” to replace him. Its publication forced her to reaffirm her support for the prime minister, although she did not explicitly deny his leadership ambitions.
An Oxford-trained lawyer, she has held the Foreign Affairs portfolio for three years. That report has placed it at the center of Canada’s well-documented disputes with New Delhi over allegations that Indian diplomats have carried out criminal activities including homicide in Canada, as well as with Beijing for the imprisonment of two Canadians apparently in retaliation for the arrest of a Chinese executive in Canada.
Some have criticized her for her approach to those crises, potentially undermining any attempt at leadership, and a survey cited by CTV News He gave her just 4% support, but as she told the Times: “It’s been the story of my life, you know, being underestimated.”
Anita Anand
Elected in 2019, the now Transport Minister quickly assumed a pivotal role during the Covid pandemic, with responsibility as minister for vaccine and PPE procurement.
She then became defense minister, leading Canada’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as the government’s response to a review of allegations of sexual misconduct within the military.
His high-profile portfolios quickly led to speculation about his leadership potential. A cabinet reshuffle in 2023 that made her Treasury Board chairwoman sparked rumors of a demotion due to her alleged ambitions.
Dominic LeBlanc
LeBlanc, a former ally of Trudeau, previously ran for the leadership and reportedly has the support of at least a dozen liberal deputies. He is widely regarded as a confident individual, taking on tough portfolios, including replacing Freeland as finance minister after she resigned.
He has also been at the forefront of Canada’s attempts to develop relations with the incoming Trump administration, accompanying Trudeau to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in November.
Like Trudeau, he is political royalty in Canada; his father was the former governor general, deputy and senator Roméo LeBlanc. The families’ relationship goes back decades – LeBlanc babysitter for Trudeau when they were younger and he was a pallbearer at the funeral of his father, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. leblanc decided not to participate in the 2012 leadership race when Trudeau made his ambitions known.
christian clark
Clark, the former premier of British Columbia, has also emerged as a possible contender given her past experience and her distance from Trudeau.
Clark, a fiscally conservative politician, was premier from 2011 to 2017 and leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party, which is not affiliated with the federal Liberals.
Clark, a strong critic of Trudeau, posted on social media shortly after the prime minister announced his resignation.
“As a lifelong Liberal, I look forward to joining tens of thousands of Canadians in electing our next leader,” he wrote. “This is the biggest opportunity we’ve had in more than a decade to grow our Party and welcome new Liberals, including Canadians concerned about the future of our country. Let’s take advantage of it.”
While Clark has government credentials, his command of French is not strong compared to other candidates. Proficiency in both of Canada’s official languages is a usual prerequisite for the premiership, while French-speaking Quebec has long been a stronghold for the party and a linguistically weak candidate could be a political problem in the province.