MNI BRIEF: Ex-FM Freeland Joins Canada Liberal Leadership Race
MNI (OTTAWA) - Former Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Friday she’s joining the contest to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader and Canada’s prime minister, moving one day after Mark Carney in seeking to reverse the party’s sagging fortunes before an election due by October.
"I'm running to fight for Canada" she said in a social media post that said the official campaign launch will be on Sunday.
Freeland helped trigger the leadership race, fueling dissent within Liberal ranks by quitting cabinet Dec. 16 rather than deliver a budget update. Her resignation letter attacked Trudeau’s fiscal "gimmicks" she said failed to meet the challenge of Donald Trump's threatened 25% tariffs. Trudeau earlier this month said he will step down in March. (See: MNI INTERVIEW: Trudeau Cabinet Disarray Fuels Trump Trade Risk)
Distancing herself from voter fatigue with Trudeau’s decade in power remains challenging. Polls show Conservatives led by Pierre Poilievre would win a majority government if an election were held now, and voters put inflation and a weak economy at the top of the list of concerns. (See: MNI: Trudeau Deficit Unlikely To Fix Canada's Vibecession)
Most of Freeland’s tenure at finance implemented deficits to support new social programs, spending much of the windfall from the pandemic rebound and arguing it was affordable because of low interest rates. She backed a national daycare program and family tax breaks widely credited with reducing poverty.
Her main rival in the leadership race is Mark Carney, who also had a role in Trudeau’s downfall. Over the summer media reports citing unnamed sources said Freeland could be demoted or dropped from cabinet, around the time Trudeau said he wanted to recruit Carney and named him a special economic adviser.