1) Liberals set to announce Trudeau’s successor as party leader on March 9

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Kyle Duggan and Mia Rabson, Jan. 9, 2025

The federal Liberals will announce a new leader on March 9, the party announced late Thursday, giving potential candidates just two weeks to decide to run and potential voters less than three weeks to join the party in order to vote.

The National Board of Directors met Thursday night to decide the initial rules for the race to race to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced Monday he will resign as soon as a new leader is chosen.

Contenders have until Jan. 23 to declare their candidacy and will have to pay a $350,000 entry fee to participate in the race.

The Liberals did not say Thursday how people will vote, but did tighten the rules around who will be eligible to cast a ballot in the race after concerns were raised that anyone with a Canadian address over the age of 14 could potentially vote.

To take part in this selection process, you must be registered as a Liberal member by Jan. 27, be at least 14 years old, and be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or have status under the Indian Act.

Ontario Liberal MP Chandra Arya and former Montreal MP Frank Baylis are the only two candidates to officially declare they are in the race so far.

Baylis announced within hours of Trudeau’s announcement Jan. 6 and Arya jumped in on Thursday morning.

Former B.C. premier Christy Clark and former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney are both considering joining the race. Several cabinet ministers are also mulling it over, including Karina Gould, Steven MacKinnon, Jonathan Wilkinson, François-Philippe Champagne and Mélanie Joly.

Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland is also considering entering the race. After months of mounting pressure to step down with cratering party poll numbers, Trudeau’s decision to step down followed Freeland’s bombshell resignation from cabinet on Dec. 16 

Freeland left cabinet just hours before she was scheduled to deliver the fall economic statement and three days after Trudeau had told her she would be replaced in the finance portfolio by Carney.

Her exit lit a fire under caucus members who had already been pushing for Trudeau to quit. They saw his sagging popularity as the main reason the party has been trailing far behind the Conservatives in the polls. 

By the end of December a majority of his caucus said they wanted him to go.

Carney did not ultimately move into the finance job; instead, Dominic LeBlanc was sworn in as finance minister late in the day on Dec. 16. 

LeBlanc said Wednesday he won’t be a candidate for the leadership because he wants to focus his attention on fighting tariffs on Canadian imports to the U.S. that are expected when Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

The Liberals have little time to mount the leadership contest, with Parliament prorogued until March 24 and all opposition parties currently planning to vote the government down at their first opportunity.

The new leader will potentially have just a little more than two weeks in office before the country is plunged into a spring election.

On Thursday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre held a news conference in Ottawa and worked to cast all leadership candidates as clones of the outgoing prime minister, saying they’ve supported hallmark Liberal policies like carbon pricing.

“In the next election, I will be running against Justin Trudeau, whether his name is Justin Trudeau or his name is Chrystia Freeland or ‘carbon tax Carney’ or ‘carbon tax Clark,'” Poilievre said.

He is pushing for carbon pricing to be the ballot box question and what potential candidates have to say about carbon pricing will be a key question in this contest.

Arya, who posted on social media Thursday morning he wants to campaign on running a “small, more efficient government” told The Canadian Press in an interview that the party should ditch carbon pricing.

He also wants Canada to abandon the monarchy.

“This is an old concept that we have to swear allegiance to a king somewhere out there.” he said.

2) (Updated) Trudeau prorogues Parliament, will step down as PM after leadership race

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Kyle Duggan and David Baxter, January 6, 2025

As a tearful Justin Trudeau outlined his plans to resign as Liberal leader and prime minister on Monday, he put the country on track for an early election featuring a new party flagbearer for the first time in a decade.

Once seen as the Liberal saviour who lifted a battered party brand up from the ashes, Trudeau came up against a groundswell of pressure from party rank-and-file to step aside as the public soured on his government and grew hungry for change.

The questions now are when exactly the election will come, and who will vie to become Trudeau’s successor, tasked with the herculean feat of raising the party back up from the depths.

After more than a year of plummeting poll numbers and surging pressure from within his own caucus to step aside, he informed Canadians on Monday he will step aside as soon as a new leader is chosen.

“This country deserves a real choice in the next election and it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,” Trudeau said outside his official residence in Ottawa.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=8PA-frY4YFc%3Ffeature%3Doembed

Trudeau said he reflected on his political future over the holidays and told his three kids about his decision over dinner Sunday.

He also said Gov. Gen. Mary Simon has agreed to his request to prorogue Parliament until March 24.

Trudeau had consistently signalled over the past year he intended to remain at the helm despite growing calls he step down. But the decisive blow that shattered his grip on the party reins came when Chrystia Freeland suddenly resigned as minister of finance and deputy prime minister on Dec. 16, after Trudeau had informed her he was going to move her out of the finance portfolio.

Her departure, hours before she was to table the fall economic statement in the House of Commons, sent shock waves through the governing party.

Questions about Trudeau’s future have swirled since support for his party began to tumble in 2023. The Liberals have trailed the Conservatives by more than 20 points for more than a year now.

Trudeau said he asked for Parliament to be prorogued because the House of Commons has been paralyzed for months through obstruction and needs a reset. This move will shutter the House for two months, wipe clear the current slate of legislation and delay any opportunities for non-confidence votes that could trigger an election until it resumes in spring.

“It’s time for the temperature to come down, for people to have a fresh start in Parliament to be able to navigate through these complex times domestically and internationally,” he said. “Removing me from the equation as the leader who will fight the next election for the Liberal party should also decrease the level of polarization we’re seeing right now in the House and in Canadian politics.”

Trudeau said he asked Liberal party president Sachit Mehra Sunday night to immediately launch a leadership race ahead of the next election.

Mehra said in a statement he will call a national board meeting this week to begin the process to select a new leader. Details about the timing of the race have not yet been announced, although Liberal MPs were briefed virtually Monday afternoon on the party constitution and next steps in the leadership process.

The spotlight now will be cast on long-suspected leadership aspirants such as Freeland, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, former central banker Mark Carney, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne and a cast of others.

Candidates will have to scramble to launch speedy campaigns as they jostle under tight time constraints to organize and claim the mantle as the best to take on popular firebrand Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.

A spokesperson said Poilievre is away on a family vacation and will respond to Monday’s events later this week.

Trudeau’s decision injected a hefty dose of optimism into Liberal MPs who were just recently at wit’s end over Trudeau’s insistence he stay on.

Montreal MP Anthony Housefather told The Canadian Press he believes there is still enough time for a new leader to establish themselves on the national stage and run a competitive election campaign.

“Nobody knows what the future brings or how well we’ll do, but I’m confident that we’ll do better in the next election because of this process and because of the opportunity to offer a fresh face with new ideas to the country,” he said.

Ontario MP and former cabinet minister Helena Jaczek said she felt a sense of sadness knowing this would be a “very hard decision” for the fighter in Trudeau, but she also felt relief, since it presents a chance for renewal.

Jaczek said between responding to the COVID pandemic and its aftermath, Trudeau may have become “unaware” of how Canadians feel on grassroots issues like cost of living.

“There were a whole lot of issues that perhaps we could have addressed a little more quickly,” she said.

Liberal MP Wayne Long said this marks day-one of the party’s rebuild and will give the party a fighting chance in the next election.

“This shouldn’t be a Pierre Poilievre coronation,” he said.

While the next election must be held by this October, spring or early summer are much more likely given the precarious minority Parliament that has all three main opposition parties pronouncing they’re ready to bring the government down in a confidence vote.

Poilievre sought to cast Trudeau’s move as a desperate political play by a sputtering Liberal party, whose MPs stood by their leader right up until he cratered in the polls and was no longer a viable candidate.

“Their only objection is that he is no longer popular enough to win an election and keep them in power,” Poilievre said in a statement. “They want to protect their pensions and paycheques by sweeping their hated leader under the rug months before an election to trick you, and then do it all over again.”

After supporting the Liberals through confidence votes last fall, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh first said Trudeau needed to resign on Dec. 20, after Freeland’s cabinet departure. Now, the NDP leader says his party will topple the government at the first chance, likely through a vote on the throne speech when Parliament returns.

“New Democrats will be voting against this government for an election where Canadians will have a choice,” Singh said. “It doesn’t matter who the leader is, the Liberals have let you down. They do not deserve another chance.”

In his nearly decade-long tenure as prime minister, Trudeau ushered the country through a global pandemic, renegotiation with the U.S. of Canada’s most important free-trade deal and a destabilized geopolitical environment following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Some of his most prominent policies have included introducing a controversial carbon-pricing regime that his political rivals campaigned against, legalizing recreational cannabis and introducing a ramped up child-benefit payment based on income levels.

Trudeau’s close friend and former principal secretary Gerald Butts said in an online briefing by the Eurasia Group Monday that there’s not much Trudeau could have done differently to hold on, since most Canadian prime ministers have a political best-before date of 10 years.

“Sometimes in politics, the most difficult thing to come to terms with is that there are elements of your fate that are outside of your control and the clock is the No. 1 element,” he said. “He’s a historically consequential prime minister and history has a way of separating the wheat from the chaff over time.”

Trudeau’s decision comes two weeks before Donald Trump is sworn back into office as president of the United States and Trudeau will remain at the helm during what is expected to be a rocky start to Trump’s second term in the Oval Office. Trump has threatened to impose steep import tariffs on all Canadian goods the day he is inaugurated.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said after Trudeau’s announcement that Ottawa “must urgently explain to Canadians” how it will avoid economically devastating tariffs.

Canadian Chamber of Commerce CEO Candace Laing said Trudeau read the room correctly and made the right call.

“His resignation marks a turning point as Canada tackles unprecedented domestic and international challenges,” she said. “Canada’s next prime minister must hit the ground running and be laser-focused on strengthening the Canada-U.S. trade relationship.”

3) Some quotes on Justin Trudeau’s decision to step down

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By The Canadian Press staff, January 6, 2025

Justin Trudeau announced Monday he will step down as prime minister and Liberal leader once the party chooses his successor. 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=8PA-frY4YFc%3Ffeature%3Doembed

Here are some quotes: 

“Canadians deserve a real choice in the next election and it has become obvious to me, with the internal battles, that I cannot be the one to carry the Liberal standard into the next election.” 

— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 

———

“Canadians desperate to turn the page on this dark chapter in our history might be relieved today that Justin Trudeau is finally leaving. But what has really changed? Every Liberal MP in power today and every potential Liberal leadership contender fighting for the top job helped Justin Trudeau break the country over the last nine years.” 

— Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre

———

“The problem is not just Justin Trudeau. It’s every minister that’s been calling the shots. It’s every Liberal MP that looked down their nose at Canadians who are worried about high costs or crumbling health care. The Liberals do not deserve another chance, no matter who is the leader.” 

— NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh

———

“There is no significant difference between the Liberal party that we know and the Liberal party that will be presented to us after there’s a new leader.”

— Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet

———

“As a lifelong Liberal I look forward to joining tens of thousands of Canadians to choose our next leader. This is the biggest opportunity in over a decade that we’ve had to grow our Party and welcome new Liberals — including Canadians concerned about the future of our country — let’s seize it!” 

— Christy Clark, former British Columbia premier 

———

“The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat. Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned. If Canada merged with the U.S., there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them.”

— U.S. president-elect Donald Trump

———

“President-elect Trump continues to make real threats about imposing sweeping tariffs that would devastate Canada’s economy. In two weeks, the president-elect will be sworn in as America’s next president and will have every opportunity to make his threats real. Between now and then, the federal government needs to do everything humanly possible to avoid these tariffs, including by doing more to secure our border and offering a credible plan to invest more in Canada’s military to meet and exceed our NATO spending commitments.” 

— Ontario Premier Doug Ford

———

“At this critical time, Canadians need and deserve a prime minister and federal government with a clear mandate won from the Canadian people to negotiate with the incoming U.S. President and his administration on one of the most important international negotiations we have ever faced as a country.”

— Alberta Premier Danielle Smith

———

“His resignation marks a turning point as Canada tackles unprecedented domestic and international challenges. Canada can’t afford inaction with so much at stake. Unity is key: political leaders, businesses, and communities must come together around our common opportunities. Canada’s next prime minister must hit the ground running and be laser-focused on strengthening the Canada-U.S. trade relationship.”

— Canadian Chamber of Commerce president Candace Laing

———

“It should not have ended this way, but Spring will come, the grass will grow and the Liberal party will rise again.”

— Michael Ignatieff, former federal Liberal leader

———

“If anyone knew what it would mean for his children if he were to become PM — as the child of a PM — Justin Trudeau knew. I have observed for many years how he has consistently prioritized his family’s time and his children.”

— Green Leader Elizabeth May

———

“During his decade in office, Prime Minister Trudeau has taken meaningful steps to address issues that matter to First Nations. … Over the past few months, we have seen significant delays in progress on key issues. While Parliament has been prorogued until March 24, 2025, the federal government must ensure that critical issues affecting First Nations remain a priority during this period of change.”

— Assembly of First Nations national Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak

———

“I thank Justin Trudeau for his years of service to Canada and Canadians. I wish him and his family the very best.”

— Chrystia Freeland, former Liberal deputy prime minister

———

“I don’t need to agree with someone on every issue to respect the sacrifice it takes to run for public office and serve. Despite our differences, we were able to have frank conversations as we discussed what was best for the people of Nova Scotia.”

— Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston

4) Liberal caucus to meet Wednesday as calls mount for Trudeau to resign

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By David Baxter, January 3, 2025

Justin Trudeau’s Liberal caucus will meet on Wednesday as calls from MPs mount for the prime minister to step down. 

Two Liberal MPs told The Canadian Press that the meeting will take place in Ottawa with the option for attendees to participate virtually. 

The meeting was convened on the same day that Manitoba MP Ben Carr shared a letter on social media Friday saying he wants to see Trudeau resign. 

In the letter, Carr says that he does not arrive at the decision easily, but constituents tell him they feel alienated by the Liberal Party leadership. 

MPs are scheduled to return to Ottawa on Jan. 27, and the three main opposition parties all say they plan to bring down the government at their first opportunity.

The Conservatives plan to introduce a non-confidence motion at the public accounts committee next week that could be up for a vote in the House of Commons as soon as Jan. 30. 

5) (Updated) Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he won’t run for Liberal leadership

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Kyle Duggan and Sarah Ritchie, January 8, 2025

The federal Liberal caucus gathered on Parliament Hill on Wednesday with speculation swirling about which of its members will put their names forward to lead the party into the next election — and with one potential contender bowing out.

Just before the meeting got underway, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc surprised many of his fellow Liberal MPs by posting a statement to social media thanking supporters for their encouragement and saying he’s decided not to run in the upcoming race.

The New Brunswick MP wrote that Canada is “at a critical juncture in its relationship with its most important ally and trading partner, the United States.”

Speaking to reporters before the meeting, LeBlanc said he was genuinely touched that caucus colleagues encouraged him to seek the leadership.

“I decided that the most important thing I should do over the next few months is my job as minister of finance and intergovernmental affairs,” he said, adding he will be “solely focused on the real economic threat that American tariffs represent.”

Incoming U.S. president Donald Trump threatened in November to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all goods from Canada and Mexico when he takes office, unless both countries act to stop migrants and illegal drugs from crossing the border into the United States. 

LeBlanc has travelled to Florida twice since Trump won the U.S. election in November to meet with the president-elect and key members of his team. Trump has doubled down on his rhetoric in recent days, insisting the tariffs are coming and threatening to use “economic force” to annex Canada and make it the 51st state.

Some Liberal MPs expressed disappointment LeBlanc won’t run in the race, including Yasir Naqvi, Ken McDonald and Judy Sgro, who said she was “counting on” him to run and doesn’t have another person in mind yet who she wants to support. 

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said she’s weighing whether to launch a leadership bid of her own for the very same reason as LeBlanc: not wanting to leave cabinet at a crucial time for Canada.

“I very much know that I’m the minister of foreign affairs at a time where it’s extremely difficult with the American administration — the incoming one. That’s why I’ll continue my reflection,” she said. 

Joly said she’s receiving a lot of support from across the country to run, but is also factoring in her family, her desire to become a mother and her need to defend Canada’s national interests against Trump’s trade threats.

“We have to be extremely ready because the threat of tariffs is real.”

The Liberals are gathering in person for the first time since Trudeau announced on Monday he plans to step down as leader once a successor is chosen. 

The national meeting is focused on next steps for the party as it begins the search for a leader who can hold their own against popular Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

Potential high-profile leadership aspirants include former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, former central banker Mark Carney and former B.C. premier Christy Clark, though no one has yet officially declared to run.

James Maloney, parliamentary secretary to the minister of justice, said he’s ready to back Freeland if she chooses to enter the race.

Cabinet ministers including Anita Anand and François-Philippe Champagne have been making the rounds with MPs and party members to gauge their support.

Jonathan Wilkinson, Steven MacKinnon and Karina Gould are all fielding calls from members of the party rank-and-file and are seriously considering leadership bids.

Wilkinson told reporters Wednesday he’s speaking with his family about the possibility.

“I would also say that the conversations with my colleagues are 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.

MacKinnon said he’s “absolutely considering running” for leadership because the race needs a candidate who “understands the whole country, who values all the regions of Canada and who is able to communicate their ideas in every region.”

Top Liberal brass are gathering behind closed doors all week to get the leadership contest underway.

The national party board has to assemble a leadership vote committee to organize and set rules and dates for the coming race. Those rules could still take days to produce. Once the rules are set, that could quickly set off a flurry of declarations by contenders.

Rob Oliphant, parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs, said the party to needs a leader in place “very early in March, at the latest,” so he’s hoping for an “expedited process.”t rules for the coming race. Those rules could take days to produce once the committee is struck.

6) Mélanie Joly will not run for Liberal party leadership, source confirms

Courtesy Barrie 360.com and Canadian Press

By Kyle Duggan, Jan 10, 2025

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is bowing out of the race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader — making her the second cabinet minister to choose their current job over a chance to become prime minister.

Joly said that while she’s ready to become the first female leader of the Liberal party, she’s not willing to leave her cabinet posting at a “crucial time” for Canada-U. S. relations.

“The reality is, I can’t do both,” she told reporters on Parliament Hill on Friday morning.

Joly made the comments today heading into a Canada-U. S. cabinet committee meeting called to discuss retaliatory measures Ottawa is preparing in the event incoming U.S. president Donald Trump follows through on his threat to slam Canada with stiff tariffs.

“We will be ready and I’ll do my job,” Joly said, adding that she will be headed back to Washington next week.

Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc dashed the hopes of many of his caucus mates Wednesday by becoming the first potential cabinet aspirant to rule out a leadership bid. Judy Sgro and other Liberal MPs have asked him to change his mind, saying he would add to the race as a strong candidate.

The party leadership race is fully underway now that the party has set a date for the vote. More big-name candidates are expected to announce soon whether they intend to run or sit this one out.

Leadership hopefuls only have until Jan. 23 to declare and must pay a $350,000 fee to enter the race, which is set to conclude on March 9.

That leaves them just two weeks to make up their minds on whether to mount a campaign to replace Trudeau.

Anticipation has been building for months over whether former central banker Mark Carney, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland and former B.C. premier Christy Clark will throw their hats in the ring.

A host of other current cabinet ministers considering bids will also have to make up their minds, including Karina Gould, François-Philippe Champagne, Jonathan Wilkinson, Anita Anand and Steven MacKinnon.

Ontario Liberal MP Chandra Arya and former Montreal MP Frank Baylis are the only two candidates to officially declare they are in the race so far.