On the Morning of January 6th, Justin Trudeau announced his official resignation as the country’s federal leader, thus begging the question: who will take his place until the next federal election?
Trudeau served as Canada’s 23rd prime minister for over 9 years after his landslide victory in 2015, giving the Liberal Party a majority government. However, most recently, his time spent in Parliament has incited controversy. Even before his public resignation, whispers within the party’s caucus hinted at a growing desire for new leadership. As such, to Parliament, Trudeau’s resignation came as no surprise.
And the race begins!
For the time being, the Liberal leadership race is also the race for PM until the next scheduled federal election, which is expected in October of 2025. The current candidates set to debate are Mark Carney, Christian Freeland, Karina Gould, and Frank Baylis.
The front runner: Mark Carney
Born in 1965 in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, economist Mark Carney is currently considered to be the favoured candidate for the role by the Liberal Caucus with over 80 endorsements from both MPs (Members of Parliament) and Cabinet Ministers. Carney earned his bachelor's degree at Harvard University and his PHD in economics from Oxford University in. He served as governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013, and as the head of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020.
Carney’s political campaign focuses heavily on his promises and plans to grow and strengthen Canada’s economy. Carney’s plan to Invest and grow Canada’s economy focuses on what Canadians can control to help the country's economic status. This includes tax cuts for the middle class, investments in future infrastructure, building new trade routes for foreign relations, as well as balancing the federal government's day-to-day spending on government-run programs, federal transfers and debt service charges. Furthermore, with regard to one of the main political issues determining the winner of this race, the tariffs imposed by Trump, Carney has stated that, if elected, he plans to continue negotiations with President Trump and respond with retaliatory tariffs.
Chrystia Freeland
Born in 1968 in Peace River, Alberta, politician and journalist Chrystia Freeland tails Carney as the next most favoured candidate, with approximately 26 endorsements from Liberal Party MPs and cabinet ministers.
With a family legacy in politics, Freeland attended the United World College of the Adriatic in Italy and studied Russian history and literature at Harvard University, and was afterward an exchange student at the State University of Kiev. During her time in Ukraine she gained fluency in Ukrainian, alongside French and English. After her studies, she first began her career in journalism working for the Financial Times, The Washington Post, as well as The Economist. Later on, she was elected as an MP for the Liberal Party in 2013, eventually advancing to the position she holds now in the House of Commons as Deputy Prime Minister.
As for Freeland’s political campaign, the candidate has previously stated that she is more concerned with winning over local party members, Liberal Party volunteers and community level supporters rather than relying solely on endorsements from fellow MPs and ministers. In alignment with candidate Mark Carney, Freeland’s approach to combat USA’s tariffs is also to respond with retaliatory tariffs.. If elected, Freeland plans to tackle Canada’s housing crisis with promises of tying the number of new immigrants to housing availability, bringing back “rent to own” programs, building more affordable housing, and kickstarting modular housing factories. Freeland has also stated her plan to improve the cost of living and state of inflation for Canadians.
Karina Gould
Born June 28 1987 in Burlington, Ontario, politician Karina Gould carries 2 endorsements from Liberal Party MPs Lisa Hefner and Pam Damoff. She spent her early years in Ontario and alsoOntario volunteered at an orphanage in Mexico for a year.
Upon her return to Canada, Gould studied political science as well as Latin American and Caribbean studies at McGill University, before completing her masters degree at St Hilda’s college in Oxford, England. After her studies, Gould worked as Trade and Investment Specialist for the Mexican Trade Commission “pro Mexico” in Toronto. She began her career in politics in 2015, serving as the MP for her hometown Burlington until now.
In her political campaign, Freeland highlights herself as a “younger fresher voice within the liberal party”. Freeland stated she would widen eligibility for Canada’s employment insurance system and introduce a universal basic income program if elected. She also promised to offer greater support for seniors and people with disabilities. As for her plan to battle Trump's tariffs, Freeland hasn’t stated a particular plan of action, however she has stressed the need for a “strong and forceful response”.
Frank Baylis
Born in 1962 in Montreal, Quebec, businessman and former politician Frank Baylis announced his candidacy for liberal party leader in early January of 2025. Currently, Baylis holds no endorsements from any MPs or ministers. After growing up between Montreal and Toronto, Ontario, Baylis received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo. He was elected as MP to represent the riding of Pierrefonds Dollard in 2015, however did not run for re-election in 2019.
If elected, Baylis wants to establish and approve two pipeline corridors to transport natural gas to markets in Europe and Asia. He also promises to fund research and development for renewable energy. Furthermore, Baylis proposed to implement a government reform plan, limiting terms for senators and MP’s to 10 years and creating a sound chamber for debate in the House of Commons, all in hopes to redistribute power to the MPs rather than the party leaders. Finally when asked what his approach would be to combat Trump's tariffs, Baylis said he would protect Canadian industries by planning a counterattack.
Who will take the win?
As the Liberal leadership race unfolds, Canadians watch closely to see who will emerge as the party’s next leader, as well as the nation’s interim prime minister. Each candidate brings distinct experience and policy priorities, but all share a common challenge: preparing to face the federal election in October 2025. Until then, the Liberal Party and the country awaits its next leader.
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