The race for Justin Trudeau’s successor is underway and several names are already circulating. The Prime Minister put an end to the suspense surrounding his political future by refusing to run in the next elections. But the director of the McGill Institute of Canadian Studies, Daniel Béland, warns that the task will be thankless and very difficult, since the elected official will have little time to change the image of the Liberal Party.
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Here are seven contenders to succeed Justin Trudeau.
Mark Carney
- 59 ans
- Former Governor of the Bank of Canada
Mark Carney, in 2016, when he was governor of the Bank of England.
Photo AFP
Mark Carney was governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013. His work was praised there, allowing the country to avoid the worst of the financial crisis at the time.
Then he served as governor of the Bank of England.
Carney has been courted by Justin Trudeau for several years, and in 2024 he was named as a special advisor to the Liberal Party for economic development.
According to Mr. Béland, Mark Carney began testing the waters in recent weeks. If its statusoutsider may be useful to him, his lack of experience in politics could just as harm him.
Chrystia Freeland
- 56 ans
- Former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
Chrystia Freeland and Justin Trudeau in 2018. Before her resignation last December, the Liberal minister was No. 2 in the Canadian government.
Photo AFP
The Albertan was deputy prime minister and one of Justin Trudeau’s closest MPs for a decade until his resounding resignation before Christmas.
Before politics, she had a career as a journalist, notably as a correspondent in Russia and Eastern Europe.
She first distinguished herself as Minister of International Trade, concluding a major trade agreement with Europe. As finance minister for four years, she continued to widen the country’s deficit.
Despite his dramatic exit from the Liberal caucus last month, what has long been the no 2 of the government could hardly “embody novelty and a change of direction,” believes Mr. Béland.
Christy Clark
- 59 ans
- Former Premier of British Columbia
Christy Clark, in 2016, while attending a meeting of provincial premiers in Ottawa.
Photo Agence QMI, MATTHEW USHERWOOD
Former Liberal Prime Minister of British Columbia from 2011 to 2017, Christy Clark is one of the few to publicly discuss her interest in the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada.
In October, - reported that she was taking French classes in Quebec.
At the head of British Columbia, she built a reputation for knowing how to juggle environmental issues, with the very first carbon tax, and the development of natural gas.
Daniel Béland points out that the Liberal Party she led was much more to the right than that of Justin Trudeau. “If she launches, it will be to bring the liberals back to the center,” he said.
Melanie Joly
- 45 ans
- Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minister Mélanie Joly on the show “Le monde à l’envers”, on TVA, in April 2023.
Photo TOMA ICZKOVITS
Elected for 10 years as an MP in Ottawa, Mélanie Joly first made herself known by running for mayor of Montreal in 2013.
She was Minister of Heritage, Official Languages and Foreign Affairs during the Liberal reign.
Her way of expressing herself, repeating “a tape”, particularly when she had to defend her government’s agreement with Netflix, was heavily criticized.
François-Philippe Champagne
- 54 ans
- Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
Minister François-Philippe Champagne at Jean-Drapeau Park in Montreal in April 2024, during the celebrations surrounding the total solar eclipse, surrounded by David Saint-Jacques and Laurie Rousseau-Nepton.
Photo Agence QMI, JOEL LEMAY
Liberal MP for 10 years, like Mélanie Joly, François-Philippe Champagne held several ministerial portfolios under the Trudeau government.
He was nicknamed the “Energizer Bunny,” from the battery brand of the same name, for his enthusiasm during his political appearances here and abroad.
A lawyer, he had an international career in business development.
As much for Mélanie Joly as for François-Philippe Champagne, two Quebec ministers tipped for the leadership of the party, trying to save the furniture of the “sinking liberal boat” could harm, according to Daniel Béland. He relates that it is difficult to get back on track after a potentially crushing defeat, evoking the past examples of John Turner and Kim Campbell.
Anita Anand
- 58 ans
- Minister of Transport
Anita Anand, in 2023, during a NATO meeting in Belgium, when she was Minister of National Defense.
Photo AFP
Elected only since 2019, Anita Anand is however often the most ambitious liberal recruit.
During the pandemic, she managed to quickly obtain protective equipment and vaccine doses for Canada.
She is the first woman of Hindu origin to be elected to Parliament.
“She was a very competent minister […] but if it is really ambitious, it is perhaps better to wait,” believes Mr. Béland.
Dominic LeBlanc
- 57 ans
- Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs
Minister Dominic LeBlanc in 2021, during his swearing in as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.
Photo AFP
Not only has Dominic LeBlanc been a Liberal MP for 25 years in New Brunswick, he is a long-time friend of Justin Trudeau.
As a child, he was even the guardian of a young Justin Trudeau, when the latter’s father was prime minister.
He tried to run for the head of the party in 2008 before lining up behind Michael Ignatieff. In 2012, he endorsed Justin Trudeau for the job. He has been in remission from cancer since 2019.
LeBlanc suffers from the same problem as other Liberal ministers, according to Mr. Béland, namely the difficulty of distancing himself from Justin Trudeau’s policies and leading a race without having to resign.
