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Liberal MPs urge LeBlanc to reconsider and run for leader

LeBlanc had been publicly encouraged to run by two Liberal MPs

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OTTAWA — Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc has ruled himself out of the race to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to devote his full attention to the threat of U.S. tariffs — but a growing number of Liberal MPs are hoping he will change his mind.

In the wake of Trudeau’s announcement Monday that he intends to resign as party leader and prime minister, LeBlanc said he has been encouraged to run by caucus colleagues and Liberals across the country. But after considering it, and seeing the ramped-up rhetoric from U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, he said he decided against it.

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“I have decided not to be a candidate in the Liberal Party of Canada’s upcoming leadership race,” said LeBlanc, in a statement posted on social media on Wednesday morning.

“I will be solely focused on the real economic threat that American tariffs represent to the Canadian economy and to Canadian workers,” he told reporters minutes after he released his statement.

Liberal MPs gathered as a national caucus on Wednesday for the first time since Trudeau announced Monday he would be stepping down, with Parliament now suspended until late March. Many of them expressed disappointment with LeBlanc not running.

“He’s bilingual, he’s got a great personality, he’s been around a long time, he understands politics very well, and I think he would make a great prime minister,” said Toronto MP Judy Sgro, who said she does not have a second choice in mind. “I was counting on Dominic.”

Sgro, Jennifer O’Connell, Mark Gerretsen, Jo?l Lightbound and Yasir Naqvi are among the MPs who are asking LeBlanc to reconsider his decision.

“He has what it takes to beat (Conservative Leader) Pierre Poilievre, and I think he has broad support from caucus, so I really hope he does reconsider,” said O’Connell.

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Sgro said she still has hope he changes his mind. “I think if we can get a ‘Draft Dominic’ movement, it just may happen.”

LeBlanc has been chairing the Canada-U.S. cabinet committee since Chrystia Freeland resigned as finance minister on Dec. 16 and has established friendly relations with U.S. businessman Howard Lutnick, who as Trump’s pick as secretary of commerce would be in charge of imposing Trump’s promised punishing trade tariffs of 25 per cent on all Canadian imports.

A source close to LeBlanc said the decision not to run was “harrowing” given the support he received in the past two days to seek the leadership, but he needed to be fully committed to his role in Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs to face the economic unpredictability that will come with the incoming Trump administration.

“He has already established important connections with the Trump team that cannot be easily replaced,” said the source, who said it was a “critical” moment for him to stay on.

The source said Canadian officials fear that the 25 per cent tariffs would force the government to distribute billions in help to businesses and individuals, like it did during the pandemic, to keep the economy afloat. On Tuesday, Trump criticized the trade deficit with Canada and said the U.S. does not need to buy Canadian cars, lumber or dairy.

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That was on top of Trump’s threat Tuesday to use “economic force” to annex Canada to the U.S. — an idea widely seen as a way to belittle Canada.

The difficulties of navigating a second, emboldened Trump presidency is weighing on other high-profile members of cabinet who are still reflecting on whether or not they want to divide their time between their portfolio and wooing Liberal members across the country for a leadership bid.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said that difficult balance has been on her mind as she considers whether to run as Liberal leader.

“For me, right now, the question I’m asking myself is, in the context of Canada-U.S. relations, where can I have the biggest impact?” she said.

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

Other cabinet ministers who are considering a run include Industry Minister Fran?ois-Philippe Champagne, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, Employment and Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon and Government House Leader Karina Gould.

“Priority No. 1 is the U.S. tariffs. That is for sure. And it should be for not only me, but any cabinet minister which has to deal with the U.S. file,” warned Champagne, who added he is waiting to see the rules of the leadership race before coming to his own decision about whether to run.

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MacKinnon, who is not as involved with the U.S. file as some of his colleagues, said he is still considering a run but has already mused that he would be ready to quit cabinet should he have to in order to launch a potential leadership bid.

Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland and former British Columbia premier Christy Clark are also reportedly weighing possible runs.

Frank Baylis, who represented a Montreal riding from 2015 until 2019 for the Liberals, is the only one so far who has confirmed he will be in the race.

National Post
calevesque@postmedia.com

— With files from Stephanie Taylor

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