(Ottawa) Will the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, enter the race to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau? The elected official from British Columbia did not want to specify his intentions on Thursday. Mark Carney, Chrystia Freeland and Karina Gouldl, all three from Ontario, will be on the starting blocks.
Posted at 10:54 a.m.
Updated at 11:53 a.m.
“I have thought about it seriously and I will make some sort of statement in the coming days,” he responded during a conference call to provide an update on his two-day visit to Washington, United States.
“Some of these considerations are personal, but others relate to the role I currently play on the committee [du Cabinet sur les relations] Canadian-American. »
The Minister of Finance, Dominic LeBlanc, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, and the Minister of Industry, François-Philippe Champagne have all given up on launching the race for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada (PLC) in because of their important roles in countering the American tariff threat.
Minister Wilkinson recognized that there is no “more central issue” than energy and natural resources in this context. The day before, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his provincial and territorial counterparts agreed on a contentious point, that of cutting energy exports to the United States, with the exception of the Prime Minister of Alberta, Danielle Smith.
“Everything is on the table,” Mr. Trudeau said after their meeting on Wednesday.
Canada could therefore stop transporting electricity, oil and natural gas to the United States if President-elect Donald Trump imposes tariffs of 25% as he threatens to do.
“Whether I’m in Cabinet or not, I’m very focused on making sure the government is well equipped to deal with it,” Wilkinson said.
Mark Carney launches
Former Governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, Mark Carney, is to officially announce his intention to become the next leader of the Liberal Party on Thursday afternoon in Edmonton, Alberta. He has the support of the former Minister of the Environment, Catherine McKenna, who implemented the carbon tax.
The one whom the Conservatives nicknamed “Carbon Tax Carney”, however, distanced himself from this policy during his interview earlier this week on the American program The Daily Show. He is the United Nations special envoy for financing climate action.
“We must do it in such a way that Canadians do not pay the price today,” he said.
PHOTO DARRYL DYCK, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Mark Carney
The former Minister of Finance and former Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland, will also distance herself from this flagship policy of the Trudeau government, indicated a source in her entourage. She must announce her entry into the liberal race in the coming days.
She received support Thursday from Newfoundland MP Ken McDonald, one of the MPs who led the revolt against Justin Trudeau in the Liberal caucus last fall, and from Quebec MP Alexandra Mendès who also openly questioned questioned his leadership.
Mme Freeland has several other supports in Quebec, including that of the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Diane Lebouthillier. She considers that the Toronto elected official is “the best to embody the change” that the PLC needs “at a critical moment for the future” of Canada.
“She took on Trump. She renegotiated NAFTA. She stood up to Putin,” recalled Health Minister Mark Holland on X. She therefore has two supporters within the Cabinet to date.
The resignation of Mme Freeland on the day she was to present her economic update in December plunged the government into crisis and led Prime Minister Trudeau to resign in turn. However, he remains in office until his successor is chosen.
Karina Gould, currently Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, is due to enter the race this weekend. His press conference will take place in Burlington, Ontario. She intends to present herself as the person who can rebuild the political party.
She has the support of Sheila Copps, who was Minister of Canadian Heritage in the government of Jean Chrétien. For her, Mme Gould represents the future of the party not only because of his age – 37 – but also because of his qualities.
Three other lesser-known candidates – Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq MP Jaime Battiste, Ontario MP Chandra Arya and former Montreal-area Liberal MP Frank Baylis – have indicated plans to enter the race .
The name of the next Liberal leader will be known on March 9.
