(Ottawa) Karina Gould confirmed her intention to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a video published on X after replacing Pierre Poilievre last fall as government leader in the House of Commons. She thus becomes the third notable candidate to run for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada (PLC), after Mark Carney and Chrystia Freeland.
Posted at 12:42 p.m.
“The time has come for a new generation of leaders,” said the 37-year-old woman and mother of two young children in French. The French version of the video was published first, a few minutes before the English version.
The MP from Burlington, Ontario, presented herself as the person who can rebuild the political party well ahead of the Conservatives in the polls.
“Let’s be honest, Canadians have lost confidence in our party. We have to regain their trust, she says. We must rebuild our party to continue building a country of which we are proud. »
Mme Gould thus becomes the youngest candidate to enter the race for leadership of the PLC, a few days after the former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, Mark Carney, and the former Minister of Finance and former Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland. Its official launch will take place on Sunday in Burlington, in his riding.
“To those who say that Canada is broken, to those who think that we should become Americans, here is my answer: Canada is the ice rink and the soccer field where we dream of the winning goal,” a- she said, alluding to the slogan regularly repeated by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.
-It’s the maple leaf on our backpacks that we wear proudly. It’s enjoying poutine or a beaver tail. It’s helping your neighbor clear snow after a storm. We are a strong, united and caring people and we will stand up for what is right.
Karina Gould
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. She was the first female minister in Canada to take maternity leave in 2018 after the birth of her son and likely the first female minister to breastfeed in the House of Commons.
“She is very intelligent. She has already worked internationally as a lawyer in the field of immigration and refugees, which is a big issue compared to the United States, and she is a woman,” she said in an interview with The Press in the days following Justin Trudeau’s resignation.
Mme Gould proved to be a strong opponent against Pierre Poilievre, giving him the answer all fall thanks to his leadership role. His calm and composed tone contrasted with the scathing and bellicose tone of the Conservative leader.
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 .
