PLC Management | Candidates submit their documents to enter the race

(Ottawa) Three candidates for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, Mark Carney, Chrystia Freeland and Chandra Arya, filed their paperwork Wednesday to officially enter the race before Thursday’s deadline.

They appear to be the first to take this step, submitting the required signatures and a $50,000 bond.

Candidates have until 5 p.m. Thursday to submit their deposit, as well as a written application bearing the signatures of 300 registered liberals.

Government House Leader Karina Gould’s campaign team said she plans to file her paperwork and filing before the deadline. Former Liberal MP Frank Baylis did not respond to requests for information.

Liberal MP Jaime Battiste has also indicated he is considering a run for party leadership, but it is unclear where he is in the process.

Mr. Carney spent Wednesday in Ottawa, where he was spotted on Parliament Hill in the morning and later on the Rideau Canal skating with Liberal MP Adam van Koeverden.

The Canadian Press asked Mr. Carney to provide an update on his policy platform regarding carbon pricing for consumers.

Mr. Carney obtained the support of the Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, on Tuesday. The former governor of the Bank of Canada indicated that he was open to the idea of ​​replacing carbon pricing with another policy to combat climate change.

“Carbon pricing is above all about making the economy more competitive and creating more sustainable jobs. It helps us do our part in the fight against climate change. It also ensures that Canadians benefit now and in the future,” Mr. Carney told The Canadian Press.

“What you’re going to see from my campaign, from my group, working with people like Steven (Guilbeault) and many others across the country, across the party, is a solution that works for everyone, which addresses all these aspects. It’s about the cost of living, jobs, competitiveness and building the strongest economy in the G7. »

Officials working on the various campaigns are now focusing their attention on the Jan. 27 deadline to register people to the party to allow them to vote for the new Liberal leader, who will also become the next prime minister.

Candidates have recruited new members to support their campaigns, but some campaigns are unsure whether those supporters are also registered to vote.

Two other candidates signaled their intention to enter the race Wednesday: former Brampton MP Ruby Dhalla and Michael Clark, a self-described Christian community organizer and businessman who is campaigning to “make the party pro-life.”

On Wednesday, Federal Housing Minister Nate Erskine-Smith said he would enter the race as a supporter, but he has not yet decided who he will support.

“I’m going to get involved in some way at some point.” I look forward to the ideas proposed by the different candidates,” said Mr Erskine-Smith in his first announcement since joining cabinet last month.

“I was encouraged by the number of serious people who came forward. »

Mr Erskine-Smith said he appreciated Mr^me Freeland as a colleague, adding that Mr. Carney had done “a lot of good things in his life” and that Mr.^me Gould approached politics with a generational perspective that he shared.

He also had complimentary words for Mr Baylis.

“Frank Baylis is a friend. I served on the committee with him. “No one talks about him when we talk about different candidates, but he’s a man who built a billion-dollar business and financed award-winning films that addressed the issue of exploitation of migrant workers.” Mr. Erskine-Smith.

“I sometimes think of the Dos Equis beer advert “The Most Interesting Man in the World”. Nobody knows him, but when they do, I think they find him quite interesting. »