The race to replace Justin Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party is underway, with seven candidates vying for the top spot. The deadline for nominations has passed, and the focus is now shifting to grassroots outreach and securing the support of influential party members.
The Liberal caucus gathered on Parliament Hill Thursday to strategize for the upcoming election, but the main discussions revolved around who the sitting Members of Parliament will support in the vote to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as their leader. The deadline for candidates to submit nomination signatures and an initial $50,000 deposit was 5 p.m. ET Thursday.
While the party will announce the final ballot names after reviewing the paperwork over the next 10 days, the vote itself is scheduled to conclude with the new leader announced on March 9. Seven Liberals have confirmed their participation by submitting the required documents, including former central banker Mark Carney, MPs Chrystia Freeland, Karina Gould, Chandra Arya and Jaime Battiste, and former MPs Frank Baylis and Ruby Dhalla. MPs outside the caucus room indicated that party unity, President Donald Trump's tariff threats, and the economy are top priorities as they decide on their next leader. Most have rallied around two presumed front-runners: Freeland, who served as the Minister of Finance until December, and Carney, who has been advising the Liberals on economic policy since September. Gould, who stepped down as House leader last weekend when she launched her bid, is campaigning as a candidate who can revitalize the party after nearly a decade in power. On Thursday, she downplayed receiving only a few caucus endorsements so far, stating that the leadership will ultimately be decided by grassroots members and emphasizing that, unlike some other candidates, she's only been organizing for two weeks.Freeland stated on Thursday that if she wins the race, she will repeal capital gains tax changes she introduced last year. She also emphasized the need for a mechanism to remove the party leader, a subtle criticism of Trudeau who announced his resignation earlier this month after resisting pressure to step down for months. Carney is attempting to run as an outsider candidate, being the only one of the seven candidates who has never been elected as an MP. However, he is backed by a growing number of high-profile and establishment Liberals, including multiple cabinet ministers like Steven MacKinnon, Steven Guilbeault, Patty Hajdu, and Jenna Sudds. Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson became the latest minister to join Carney's team on Thursday. Carney held an event for supporters in Ottawa that afternoon. While the event was closed to the media, he briefly answered reporters' questions outside. He highlighted the team and support he has garnered but rejected the notion that he can't be an outsider when the establishment appears to be backing him. He stated, 'That's a free choice. This is the Liberal party. We believe in freedom, and we believe in good judgment. And thus far Liberals are showing very good judgment.' Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner held a press conference outside a nearby Ottawa pub specifically to criticize Carney for avoiding the media since launching his campaign last week. The Canadian Press caught up with Carney on Wednesday after learning he was skating on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, and he took one question – about his position on carbon pricing. Carney has not done substantive interviews with members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery while in the capital. Rempel Garner stated, 'We have heard absolutely nothing, zero, crickets, from this man about what he would do as prime minister. I think it's curious, putting it mildly, that an unelected man who thinks that he can waltz into the Prime Minister's Office without answering any questions about policy during a time of national crisis, can get away with that. Where is he?' With the deadline approaching on Monday to sign up party members to vote in the leadership contest, candidates are hyper-focused on reaching out to supporters. A significant part of their campaigns involves attracting influential Liberals and sitting MPs, whose endorsements can bring in many more supporters and votes. Winnipeg MP Ben Carr has backed Freeland, stating that she treated him as an equal and made time for him when he was a new Liberal MP trying to find his way in Parliament. He said, 'She's tough. We need someone right now who's gonna have the ability to negotiate with the Americans in a way that defends the interests of Canada.' Quebec MP Joël Lightbound said Carney is the right leader to 'steer us through the turbulent times we're facing economically.' Labour Minister MacKinnon said it was Carney's economic vision which earned his vote of confidence
Liberal Party Canada Justin Trudeau Leadership Race Mark Carney Chrystia Freeland Karina Gould Election Strategy
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