The field of contenders is taking shape in the race to lead the Liberal Party of Canada, with several high-profile names in the party opting out of the contest in recent days.
With the leadership race set to conclude on March 9, who is in the running to replace Justin Trudeau?
Leadership hopefuls have until Jan. 23 to announce their candidacy.
Here’s what we know so far.
The former central banker is widely expected to announce his candidacy soon, with Carney appearing to tease a leadership run in an interview with Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show.
The interview marked a significant moment in which Carney weighed in on what would be needed for a Liberal leader to help turn the party around. It came amid months of speculation that the former central banker who led the Bank of Canada’s response through the 2008 global financial crisis could be eyeing a run that could see him — if successful — become prime minister until an election is called.
Stewart asked Carney, former governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, if he planned to run to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader and prime minister.
“I just started thinking about it when you brought it up,” Carney joked.
Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney laughs while speaking to reporters at the Liberal caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C., on September 10, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck.
While Carney did not explicitly say he was running, he referred to himself as an “outsider” in the political realm. When asked what kind of leader could give the Liberals a chance at winning the next election, he said, “in a situation like this, you need change. You need to address the economy.”
Most Canadians were first introduced to Carney as the governor of the Bank of Canada. He was appointed by Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper and replaced David Dodge in the role in 2008 — right before the global financial crisis.
Carney received widespread acclaim for steering Canadian monetary policy and the wider economy through the financial firestorm. That performance led him to take on the same role at the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020, becoming the first non-Briton to lead the institution.
While Carney has not formally launched his leadership campaign, he has already won some endorsements.
Patrick Weiler, Liberal MP from West Vancouver–Sunshine Coast–Sea to Sky Country, said in a statement that Carney had the “leadership and experience that Canada needs right now.”
“In the hundreds of conversations I have had with constituents in West Vancouver–Sunshine Coast–Sea to Sky Country, one name stands out: Mark Carney.”
A poll conducted by Ipsos exclusively for Global News last week looked at some of the names speculated to be weighing a potential run.
The polling asked a sample of 1,000 Canadians aged 18 and older their impression of potential replacements for Trudeau, and how likely they would be to vote for the Liberals if that person was leader.
At the top of the list is former deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland, whose surprise resignation last month added to the growing calls for him to step down, with 29 per cent having a positive impression of her. The poll also suggested if she were to become leader, 24 per cent said they were very or fairly likely to vote Liberal.
Chrystia Freeland speaks with reporters in Ottawa, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld.
Carney came in second place. According to Ipsos, 17 per cent of Canadians reported a positive impression of Carney, with the same number saying they’d vote for the party if he was leader.
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Chrystia Freeland was first elected as a Liberal MP for Toronto Centre in 2013, then for University-Rosedale in 2015, which she has held since.
Freeland’s ministerial portfolios in the Trudeau government have included handling international trade, foreign affairs and intergovernmental affairs. She has also played a significant role in Canada’s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine; her mother is Ukrainian and Freeland, fully fluent in the language, studied in Kyiv.
In the previous Donald Trump administration, Freeland led the Canadian team in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, later the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
Most recently, Freeland was finance minister and deputy prime minister.
But she resigned just hours before a lockup for the Fall Economic Statement in the House of Commons, saying in a letter that she and Trudeau found themselves “at odds” about the direction of the country’s finances.
Freeland lambasted what she called “costly political gimmicks” and stressed the need for Ottawa to keep its “fiscal powder dry” ahead of Trump’s second presidential term in the United States.
Now a member of the Liberal backbench, Freeland has long been rumoured as a potential contender to succeed Trudeau and lead the party.
But her popularity is not universal, some MPs have told Global News.
In fact, some of Trudeau’s ministers resent the method and timing of her departure.
“Chrystia Freeland’s actions are deeply disappointing,” said Brampton, Ont., Liberal MP Kamal Khera who is also the minister of diversity, inclusion and persons with disabilities.
On Tuesday, Global News learned from a source close to Government House Leader Karina Gould that she is set to enter the Liberal leadership race.
Gould, who has served as leader of the Government in the House of Commons since 2023, said on Tuesday, when asked if she plans to run for leadership, that she would have “more to say in the coming days.”
Government House leader Karina Gould rises during Question Period, Tuesday, Dec 17, 2024 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld.
The 37-year-old MP for Burlington has served in government since 2015 when she was one of the many newly-elected Liberals when the party was swept into power with a majority.
Prior to being the government’s House leader, Gould served in several ministries including as President of the Queen’s Privy Council, Minister of Democratic Institutions, Minister of International Development and Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson has also indicated that he is considering a run for leadership.
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson speaks with journalists before a Liberal Party caucus meeting in West Block on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang.
“It’s a conversation with my family and it’s an important conversation. But I would also say that the conversations with my colleagues are (also) very important. I want to ensure that I have a sufficient amount of support to be competitive in the race if I’m going to enter it. But I do think I have some important things to say,” he told reporters ahead of a Liberal caucus meeting last week.
Nova Scotia MP Jaime Battiste said he was considering throwing his hat in the ring Monday.
If he were to run and be successful, he would become the first ever Indigenous person to become prime minister.
“Before there was a Premier Wab Kinew, there had to be an Elijah Harper. Before there was a President Barack Obama, there had to be a Jesse Jackson. There must always be people willing to try, and there must always be people willing to take the first steps – even if their journey is one meant to pave the way for future generations,” he said in a statement.
Jaime Battiste rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, Dec. 9, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang.
Battiste made history in 2019 when he became the first Mi’kmaq politician to represent Nova Scotia in the House of Commons.
In a social media post on X last week, Ottawa-area MP Chandra Arya announced that he is “running to be the next Prime Minister of Canada.”
Arya said he is running on a platform of cutting expenses and that would lead a “small, more efficient government to rebuild our nation and secure prosperity for future generations.”
In February 2023, Global News reported that Arya’s total spending of taxpayer funds on “gifts given as a matter of protocol” far outstrips any other MP, including cabinet ministers who frequently meet with foreign officials and dignitaries, between July 2020 and Sept. 30, 2022.
Liberal MP Chandra Arya walks with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to a press conference highlighting the first-time home buyer incentive, at Tamarack Homes’ Cardinal Creek Village development in Ottawa on Wednesday, March 20, 2019. Ontario MP Arya is the second Liberal to announce he wants to replace Trudeau as leader of the Liberal party. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang.
House of Commons rules allow MPs to give protocol gifts not exceeding $150 before taxes “in recognition of the value and importance of a person, an event or an organization in the Member’s constituency that has contributed positively to the community.”
According to Arya’s office at the time, he purchased 1,025 plaques for a total of $20,426, with the items ranging from $15.65 to $28.59 each.
In the same year, Arya sponsored a petition calling on Ottawa to reassess its foreign agent registry plan in what appeared to be an unusual public show of opposition from within the caucus to the government’s position.
The petition was initiated by an individual in Coquitlam, B.C. — a place more than 4,000 kilometres away from the riding Arya represents.
“There is a legitimate fear among some Canadians, including the Chinese-Canadian community, the proposed registry as a tool in wrong hands can lead to harassment and intimidation of many ethnic minorities in Canada,” he had told Global News in an email.
Former Liberal MP and businessman Frank Baylis announced his candidature on Jan. 9, just days after Trudeau stepped down.
“I’m proud to share that I’ve put my name forward for the Liberal Party of Canada leadership race,” he said.
Lawyer Julius Grey stands listens to Frank Baylis outside the Court of Appeal on the first day of hearings on the appeal of Bill 21 in Montreal, on Monday, November 7, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson.
Baylis was the member of Parliament for Pierrefonds-Dollard from 2015 to 2019 and sat on the industry, foreign affairs, and ethics & privacy committees.
Baylis is the executive chairman of Baylis Medical Technologies, a healthcare tech company based in Mississauga, Ont.
“I will champion fiscal responsibility to strengthen our economy and prioritize solutions that unite our country,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
Several high-profile cabinet ministers have announced they will not run, including Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon as well as Transport and Internal Trade Minister Anita Anand, who each bowed out over the weekend.
They joined Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly to say they planned to focus on their portfolios instead.
Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Finance, Public Safety and Intergovernmental Affairs, participates in a news conference after a swearing in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced on Tuesday that he was not going to run for leadership. He said the decision not to run “one of the most difficult decisions” of his life, but the “right one at the right time.”
Former B.C. premier Christy Clark also announced Tuesday she would not be running, saying there “is simply not enough time to mount a successful campaign.”
–with files from Canadian Press
