The Liberal Party of Canadian PM Trudeau to choose a new leader on March 9 By Reuters
Written by Kanishka Singh
(Reuters) – Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party said on Thursday it would elect a new leader on March 9 ahead of the 2025 election when polls show the party is in a very weak position.
The prime minister announced on Monday that he will step down in the coming months after nine years in power, due to pressure from party members who have been hit by the party’s poor pre-election campaign.
Trudeau has said he will remain both prime minister and Liberal leader until the party elects a new prime minister.
“After a rigorous and secure process across the country, the Liberal Party of Canada will elect a new leader on March 9, and is ready to fight and win the 2025 election,” the party said in a statement.
The party’s National Board of Directors officially met on Thursday evening to discuss and define the first rules for the upcoming leadership race.
Leadership voting will be completed on March 9 and a new leader will be announced on the same day, the party said.
The deadline to become a registered Liberal and be eligible to vote in the leadership race will be January 27, according to the Liberal Party. The entry fee for a candidate to join the leadership race will be C$350,000 ($242,920.60), party added.
The Globe and Mail newspaper reported late on Thursday that former finance minister Chrystia Freeland and former central banker Mark Carney were ready to seek the leadership of the Liberal Party, while Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne are not yet sure whether they will join the race. The report cited sources.
Trudeau announced on Monday that parliament would be in session, or adjourned, until March 24.
That meant that an election was unlikely before May at the beginning, so Trudeau was expected to remain in power – at least initially – in the face of the threat of disruptive tariffs if US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.
Trump criticized Trudeau, who also criticized the president’s proposed tax on Canada, saying it would hurt both nations.
Trump also referred to Canada as an American country, while Trudeau said there was “no chance in hell” that Canada would become part of the United States.
Canada’s next election is due to be held on October 20 and polls show that voters – angered by high prices and a lack of affordable housing – are set to elect the opposition Conservatives and hand the Liberals a stunning defeat, regardless of who leads the party.
($1 = 1.4408 Canadian dollars)
