The Liberal Party of Canada confirmed Thursday that a new leader will replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on March 9.
Prime Minister Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday, blaming infighting within the Liberal Party for his death rather than years of disastrous policies that led to a housing crisis, a deteriorating socialist health care system and rampant crime. Canada is poised to hold a general election by October at the latest, but rival Conservatives are pushing for one as soon as possible, hoping to capitalize on the high approval ratings and widespread unpopularity of the Liberal Party. .
Prime Minister Trudeau used his powers as prime minister to “obstruct,” or effectively paralyze, parliament until March 24 to allow the Liberal Party to replace him as leader, delaying months of elections. campaign to erase the memory of Trudeau's divisive final days from the public's mind. voters. Both the Conservatives and the far-left New Democratic Party (NDP), which often aligns with the Liberals, have proposed holding elections earlier, but a vote before parliament is out of session is unlikely.
liberal party board Confirmed On Thursday, it said it would be ready to elect a leader by March 9, regardless of when elections are ultimately held. The Canadian Press reported Thursday that the party still needs to finalize all rules for candidates seeking to run in the election, but candidates to replace Prime Minister Trudeau have until Jan. 23 to announce their intentions. It was reported that he would have to pay $350,000 as a “participation fee” to the leadership. Race.
The Liberal Party currently has only two official candidates vying for leadership: Ontario Liberal MP Chandra Arya and former Montreal MP Frank Bayliss. A number of other (and in some cases more popular) candidates are said to be organizing campaigns, including Liberal Party leader Chrystia Freeland. His resignation from Trudeau's cabinet in December was widely considered to signal the end of Trudeau's 10-year reign.
Freeland, one of Trudeau's longtime political friends, cited U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's threat to impose hefty tariffs on Canada, saying he and Trudeau were “determining what's best for Canada going forward.” He resigned in a scathing letter declaring, “We have conflicting opinions about the path.'' This was as a key issue on which she felt Prime Minister Trudeau was weak.
of gloves and mailCiting anonymous sources from various camps, listed Freeland is reportedly alongside several other high-profile Liberal members planning to throw their hat in the ring. Prime Minister Freeland was deputy prime minister at the time of his resignation and had previously served as economy minister and foreign minister.
Another potential candidate is expected to be former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney. Conservatives have already launched a campaign against him, dubbing him a “carbon tax carnie.”
Freeland, gloves and mail He has reportedly already set up a draft campaign website, and is perhaps the most organized candidate on the list of candidates yet to officially announce their candidacy. Other people the newspaper lists as potential candidates include Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, as well as “Employment Minister Stephen McKinnon, Transport Minister Anita Anand and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. , House Minority Leader Karina Gould.
The Canadian Press reports that one wrinkle in the candidacy of several leading Francophone candidates is that the Liberal Party maintains an unofficial policy of not electing two consecutive Francophone or Anglophone leaders. He pointed out that there was. prime minister trudeau It started His political career began in Quebec, where he is considered the representative of French-speaking Canada. The party had not publicly considered whether to formally introduce language requirements for candidates at press time.
The path to choosing a new leader has already experienced some drawbacks, as the Liberal Party faces national ridicule for doing little to protect the integrity of elections. Initially, election rules stated that anyone over the age of 14 in Canada could “sponsor.”[s] The purpose of the party can be expressed by voting for the leader. Canadians have jokingly begun registering their pets to vote, whether they are dead or alive. publication A confirmation email from the Liberal Party said pets would be allowed to vote.
“The Liberal Party of Canada is aware of these ridiculous and fraudulent registration attempts,” Liberal Party communications director Parker Rand confirmed Thursday. “The national party secretary has the power to remove registrants from our lists and we will remove these fraudulent profiles well in advance of the leadership vote.”
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poièvre, who is widely expected to become Canada's next prime minister if polls hold steady until the upcoming election, has declared all Liberal leadership candidates indistinguishable from Prime Minister Trudeau and is campaigning against them. is being developed.
Following Trudeau's resignation, Poièvre said Monday that “every Liberal member currently in government, and every potential Liberal leadership candidate vying for the top job, is committed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's overthrow of the country.” I made a contribution.” “All Liberal politicians worked actively to legislate a carbon tax that would kill jobs and cause inflation.”
Poilievre reiterated that claim at a press conference Thursday, saying, “In the next election, I'm going to run against Justin Trudeau — whether his name is Justin Trudeau or Chrystia Freeland. Whether it's Carney, or a 'carbon tax,' or a 'carbon tax.' [Christy] Clark, they're all going to be Justin Trudeau. ”
“Why did they get rid of him? Did Liberal MPs get rid of him because they disagree with his policies?” he asked. “No, they say he's doing a great job. It's just that Canadians unfairly dislike him, and that unpopularity threatens their power, their salaries, their pensions. is.”
“So right before the election, Liberal MPs want to elect a different Justin Trudeau with a different face,” he concluded.
