Mark Carney expected to launch leadership campaign next week, after Joly bows out

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OTTAWA — Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is preparing to announce next week that he will be in the running to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader.

A source close to Carney’s thinking said he is expected to launch his campaign towards the end of the week. The source said he has received the support of more than 30 MPs from different parts of the country, some of whom looked his way following Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc’s decision not to enter the race.

Carney, 59, has been touted as one of the Liberal heavyweights who might seek to replace Trudeau in the top job.

He was tapped by the prime minister to chair a task force on economic growth last September, after being heavily courted to join the Liberal team. Carney was then rumoured to be joining Trudeau’s cabinet as finance minister, replacing Chrystia Freeland. But Freeland resigned, sparking a political crisis, and Carney did not end up in cabinet.

The source said Carney would represent not only change, by bringing forward new ideas and perspectives to the Liberal party, but also a credible voice on the economy.

The source said that, as governor of the Bank of Canada, Carney steered Canada through the 2008 global financial crisis, protecting Canadians’ homes, jobs and livelihoods in entire sectors, like the auto sector, under the Conservative Harper government. Later, as governor of the Bank of England, he dealt with the threat of populist politics with Brexit.

Credibility on the economic front is the kind of fight Carney wants to bring to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, added the source.

Carney would be the front-runner in a race that has so far only two declared candidates: Ottawa backbencher Chandra Arya and Quebec businessman and former MP Frank Baylis.

Earlier on Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said it is out of a “deep sense of duty” to her country that she is bowing out of the race. She said she was personally ready to become the Liberal party’s first female leader, but that leaving her current responsibilities made running for the job impossible.

“Am I ready at the same time to step away from my responsibilities as minister of foreign affairs at a time where it is a crucial time in the Canada-U.S. relationship? The answer is no. And the reality is I can’t do both,” Joly told reporters.

“I was really torn about this decision because to be frank, I think that our chances were really, really high,” she added.

Joly said she is foreign affairs minister at a “crucial” time in Canada’s history and that many Canadians are feeling anxious days away from Trump’s inauguration day.

“My job is to make sure we are ready should president-elect Trump decide to go on with his tariffs,” she said. “I decided to put my country first and I decided to do my job.”

LeBlanc also announced this week that he would not be running for Trudeau’s job because he wanted to focus on the threat of U.S. tariffs. The government is currently preparing an extensive list of retaliatory tariffs should Trump decide to move ahead with his threat when he assumes office on Jan. 20.

By then, most contenders will have announced that they are in the running.

The Liberal party released the rules of the race on Thursday with a new leader to be announced on March 9. Potential contenders have until Jan. 23 to declare their candidacy and will have to pay a $350,000 entry fee.

Eligible voters must become a Liberal party member by Jan. 27, be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or have status under the Indian Act, and be at least 14 years old.

Former B.C. Premier Christy Clark has also been preparing to announce her leadership bid, the National Post has reported. Sources said she has spent months organizing a campaign team that is ready to mobilize should she officially decide to enter the race. This past week, she held a meeting with 135 organizers from across the country.

A source close to Clark said on Friday she will be taking the weekend to consider the rules before making a final decision.

People close to Freeland’s leadership team have been more tight-lipped on her intentions, saying only that she was consulting with caucus members this week.

Freeland can count on the help of Tom Allison, a longtime Ontario Liberal organizer who ran the winning campaigns of provincial Liberal leaders Bonnie Crombie, Steven Del Duca and Kathleen Wynne.

Poilievre has already been targeting Freeland, Carney and Clark as his top adversaries.

Other cabinet ministers who are still considering a leadership bid include Industry Minister Fran?ois-Philippe Champagne, Employment Minister Steven MacKinnon, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, Transport Minister Anita Anand and House Leader Karina Gould.

A source close to Gould says she plans to make her decision public early next week.

National Post
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