Liberal leadership race: A look at the potential candidates

OTTAWA — The federal Liberals are running their first leadership race in more than a decade and their shortest in the party’s modern history to replace Justin Trudeau.

He announced Jan. 6 that he will step down as soon as a national vote is completed to elect his successor.

The party will announce the new leader after the vote on March 9. Candidates must declare by Jan. 23 and pay a $350,000 fee to enter the race.

Here’s a quick look at who is in and out of the running.

Who’s in

Chandra Arya

Arya was the first current member of the Liberal caucus to declare intent to run, four days after Trudeau’s announcement. First elected as an MP in an Ottawa suburb in 2015, Arya said he does not believe he needs to speak French to become prime minister, came out against Trudeau’s carbon pricing system and wants to abolish the monarchy.

Frank Baylis

A former Montreal Liberal MP and businessman, Baylis was the first to announce his candidacy. Baylis ran in 2015 under the Liberal banner but chose not to run again in 2019. He sold his company Baylis Medical Company Inc. to Boston Scientific Corporation in 2022 for $1.75 billion.

Who’s thinking about it

Christy Clark

The former B.C. Liberal premier has put together a team and is eyeing a run for the federal party helm. Clark was premier from 2011 to 2017 and now appears poised to announce a bid as an outsider not tied to defending the record of the Trudeau government.

Chrystia Freeland

The former finance minister who has been a Liberal MP since 2013 is expected to mount a bid for the party leadership. She played a linchpin role in Trudeau’s government until the two had a falling out in December and she quit cabinet when faced with being reassigned.

Mark Carney

The former governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England is widely expected to announce a decision on a leadership bid next week. Liberal organizers have sought to bring the star technocrat from the world of the global finance into the party fold for the past decade. This past summer, he took on a role advising the party on economics.

Karina Gould

The 37-year-old millennial is known for going head-to-head with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in Parliament. She was first elected in 2015 and later became the first cabinet minister to have a baby while in office and take maternity leave. Within the party she is known for getting the national child care program over the finish line.

François-Philippe Champagne

The industry minister has signalled interest in the job but said he’s still mulling over whether to launch a bid. Elected as the MP for Saint-Maurice—Champlain since 2015, he is known for boundless energy and for overseeing Canada’s multi-billion investments in electric vehicle production and battery plants. He has long been the subject of speculation about who would one day succeed Trudeau.

Jonathan Wilkinson

The energy minister and B.C. MP was a clean tech CEO before running for office. He has been a big part of the Liberals’ climate policies and was dispatched to try and bring Alberta on board some less popular moves including national regulations to end the use of fossil fuels as a source of electricity. He has said he is talking his decision over with family and probing whether he has enough support to enter the race competitively.

Steven MacKinnon

The minister of labour who was first elected to represent Gatineau, Que, in 2015, MacKinnon has signalled he is interested in the party’s top job and has spoken about the importance of having a bilingual leader. His most recent publicity came as the minister who stepped in to end the Canada Post strike in December after more than a month.

Anita Anand

The transport minister and MP from Oakville, Ont., Anand is perhaps best known as the procurement minister who oversaw Canada’s vaccine purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was considered a rising star in cabinet, until Trudeau suddenly sidelined her in 2023 with an important but low-profile role heading up Treasury Board.

Who’s out

Mélanie Joly

The foreign affairs minister dropped out of the race on Jan. 10. She said she wants to become the first woman to lead the Liberal party, but ultimately decided it’s a bad time to leave her job as Canada’s top diplomat since the country faces an existential tariff threat from incoming U.S. president Donald Trump.

Dominic LeBlanc

The longtime Trudeau friend and ally who jumped in to the finance portfolio when Freeland suddenly quit, LeBlanc dashed hopes of many of his fellow caucus mates on Jan. 8 by ruling out a leadership bid, citing the impending trade threats posed by a Trump administration.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2025.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press