The race for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s successor as the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada is starting to pick up, with some prominent MPs saying they’re considering a run.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson both said they are considering throwing their hat in the ring.
“I’ve been reflecting,” Joly told reporters ahead of a Liberal caucus meeting in Ottawa on Wednesday.
“Over the past few days, I’ve received a lot of support from across the country. And of course, I’ve met with my team many times, my core team,” she said.
Joly said she was considering a run in the context of her position as foreign minister at a time when Canada is facing the threat of tariffs from an incoming Donald Trump administration in the United States.
“And that’s why I’ll continue my reflection,” she said.
Wilkinson said he was also considering seeking the top job.
“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 said.
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A major figure in cabinet who said he was not going to run for Liberal leader is Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
“While I am extremely grateful for the encouragement and the expressions of support I have received from caucus colleagues and Liberals across the country, I have decided not to be a candidate in the Liberal Party of Canada’s upcoming leadership race,” LeBlanc said in a statement Tuesday.
LeBlanc said he was going to focus his full attention to his job as finance minister and minister of intergovernmental affairs to coordinate a federal response to the threat of tariffs from an incoming Donald Trump administration in the United States.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Tuesday’s caucus meeting, he said, “I will be solely focused on the real economic threat that American tariffs represent to the Canadian economy and to Canadian workers. It’s a full-time job. I’m lucky to have it, and I’ll be at the finance department very early tomorrow morning.”
Some from the party caucus, including cabinet ministers Steven MacKinnon and Karina Gould, are fielding calls from members of the party rank-and-file and seriously considering leadership bids, the Canadian Press reported.
Others including Chrystia Freeland, Anita Anand and Francois-Philippe Champagne are making their own rounds with other MPs and party members to ascertain possible support, that report said.
Top Liberal brass are also gathering behind closed doors all week.
The national party board has to assemble a leadership vote committee to organize and set rules for the coming race. Those rules could take days to produce once the committee is struck.
–with files from Canadian Press
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