By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada's ruling Liberal Party is looking for a new leader to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced on Monday that he intends to step down.
The party has yet to release details on the leadership contest, which usually takes months.
Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Wednesday he would not run.
Here are some of the remaining comments.
FORMER FINANCE MINISTER CHRISTIA FREELAND
Freeland, 56, was one of Trudeau's closest allies during his nine years in power and was serving as finance minister when he unexpectedly resigned last month after a dispute over spending and wrote a letter attacking the prime minister's leadership and his love of “political deceptions.”.
Freeland, the most senior member of government after Trudeau, has been finance minister since August 2020 and helped engineer the government's multibillion-dollar program to combat the COVID pandemic.
He was a former foreign minister and led the Canadian team that successfully renegotiated a trilateral trade deal with the United States and Mexico after former president Donald Trump threatened to scrap the agreement.
He entered the government in November 2015, and first served 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 candidate who is not part of the Trudeau government. Carney's name has floated around for years as a potential Liberal leader, largely because of his financial credentials. Carney said in a statement Monday that he would consider running in the next few days.
He worked at Goldman Sachs before joining the Canadian Treasury in 2004. He was named Bank of Canada governor in 2007 and soon had to deal with the consequences of the 2008 global crisis. In 2013 he assumed the position of governor of the Bank. of England, became the first person to head two major banks.
Carney predicted the economic damage that would result from Britain leaving the European Union, prompting attacks from Brexit supporters. After leaving the bank in 2020, he was appointed as the United Nations special representative for climate action and finance. He is currently the vice chairman of Brookfield Asset Management (TSX:).
FOREIGN MINISTER MELANIE JOLY
Joly, 45, is the most senior female cabinet member in Freeland's absence. He rose to fame in 2013 when he ran for mayor of Montreal as an outsider, suddenly finishing second. Trudeau named him heritage minister in 2015 but after a poor performance in his home province of Quebec, he was demoted to tourism minister in 2018. He returned to the limelight in 2021 as foreign minister. Along with Freeland, he helped shape Canada's line on Ukraine after the Russian invasion in 2022, and oversaw the launch of the government's long-awaited policy on the Indo-Pacific region later this year.
INNOVATION MINISTER FRANCOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE
Champagne, 54, is a trusted couple who worked as a lawyer and businessman before entering government in 2015. Known for his politeness and endless sense of humor, he served in various capacities as minister of trade, infrastructure and foreign affairs before taking over. his current role in January 2021. As minister of innovation, Champagne led efforts to attract billions of dollars in foreign investment in the electric car and auto battery sector. The effort has recently slowed in many parts of the world including Canada.
TRANSPORT MINISTER ANITA ANAND
Anand, 57, was a law professor who entered parliament in November 2019 and became the minister of commerce. When the COVID pandemic hit in 2020 it led to an effort to get protective equipment and testing at a time of great need, and pushed for vaccination deals. The effort was very successful and in October 2021 Trudeau named him to the top role of defense minister, charged with trying to end the military culture that the government has identified as sexual harassment. In July 2023 he was appointed head of the Treasury Board, which controls all government spending, and in September 2024 he was asked to become transport minister after his predecessor stepped down. Last month he was appointed as the permanent minister of transport.
Other potential contenders mentioned in local media include Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, 59, House leader Karina Gould, 37, and former British Columbia premier Christy Clark, 59.