Factbox-Potential contenders to replace Justin Trudeau as Canadian prime minister By Reuters
Written by David Ljunggren
(Reuters) – Canada’s ruling Liberal Party is searching for a new leader to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced on January 6 that he intends to resign.
The Liberal Party will elect a new king on March 9.
Former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Friday she was running. Former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney announced his candidacy on Thursday.
Here are the top contenders.
FORMER FINANCE MINISTER CHRISTIA FREELAND
Freeland, 56, was one of Trudeau’s closest supporters during his nine years in office and served as finance minister. Freeland abruptly resigned in December after a controversy over spending and a letter attacking the prime minister’s leadership and his penchant for “political antics.”
Freeland, the most prominent member of the government after Trudeau, has been finance minister since August 2020 and helped create a government plan to spend billions of money to help fight the epidemic.
He was a former foreign minister and led the Canadian delegation that successfully renegotiated a trilateral trade agreement with the United States and Mexico after then-President Donald Trump threatened to tear it up.
He joined the government in November 2015, and started working as the minister of commerce. Before entering politics in 2013, Freeland worked as a journalist and in senior editorial roles with several media companies, including the Financial Times, the Globe and Mail, and Reuters, where he worked from 2010 to 2013. He has written two books.
FORMER BANK OF CANADA GOVERNOR MARK CARNEY
Carney, 59, is the only major candidate who is not part of the Trudeau government. Carney’s name has been floating around for years as a potential Liberal leader, largely because of his financial credentials. He launched his leadership bid on Thursday, portraying himself as an outsider who is not part of the Trudeau government and said he wants to focus on the struggling economy.
Carney worked for Goldman Sachs before joining the Canadian Treasury Department in 2004. He was named governor of the Bank of Canada in 2007 and had to deal with the immediate aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. In 2013, he took over as governor of the Bank of England, becoming the first person to manage two major banks.
Carney is predicting the economic damage that could result if Britain leaves the European Union, prompting attacks from pro-Brexit advocates. After leaving the bank in 2020, he was appointed as the United Nations special envoy for climate action and finance. He was a vice chairman at Brookfield Asset Management (TSX:) but has since stepped down to campaign.
HOUSE LEADER KARINA GOULD
Gould, 37, wants to be the first female leader of the Liberal Party. She entered parliament in 2015 and was appointed minister of democratic institutions in January 2017, becoming the youngest female Cabinet minister at the age of 29. poor foreign aid service. She also became the first cabinet minister to take maternity leave after giving birth in 2018. He became minister for families in 2021 and in 2023 was named leader of the Liberals’ House of Commons.
Three other people have announced their intention to run but are unlikely to win. They are former legislators Chandra Arya and Jaime Battiste and former member of parliament Frank Baylis.
