Former Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, whose resignation hastened the end of Justin Trudeauʼs career, has joined the race to replace him as prime minister.
Chrystia Freeland reported her candidacy for the position of leader of the Liberal Party with the words "Iʼm running to fight for Canada".
The former minister will compete with Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada, whose election campaign officially started on January 16.
The winner will become Canadaʼs prime minister in March, but itʼs likely that either Carney or Freeland will have to run again, as all major opposition parties are set to vote to dismiss the government.
Both candidates for prime minister will focus on economic issues, including how to deal with Donald Trumpʼs threat to impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from Canada to the United States. In his speech, Carney said he planned to "focus entirely on getting our economy back on track," while Freeland said she favored the tariffs.
“If President Trump imposes a 25% tariff, our counterattack must be dollar for dollar — and it must be clear and painfully targeted,” she wrote in the Toronto Star.
Chrystia Freeland has held a number of important positions — including minister of trade, foreign affairs and finance — since Justin Trudeau and the Liberals came to power in 2015. She also served as deputy prime minister for five years. Freeland has regularly pushed for sanctions against Russia.
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reported his resignation as leader of the ruling Liberal Party on January 6. He will remain prime minister until a new leader is elected.
- Calls for Trudeau to resign have increased since December 2024, when he fell out with Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. She subsequently resigned, saying that in recent weeks she and Trudeau had "diffused on the best path for Canada" and that the prime minister did not want her as finance minister.
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