The race to be the next prime minister (for a few weeks at least) is heating up.
What happened: Former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor Mark Carney launched his campaign for the Liberal Party leadership yesterday in Edmonton. Meanwhile, ex-finance minister Chrystia Freeland is expected to announce her campaign on Sunday.
- Although other candidates are running, the race is really between these heavyweights, with the majority of early endorsements from Liberal MPs going to one or the other.
Big picture: Carney led a Leger poll of Liberal voters, with 27% of respondents picking him as their preferred candidate. Freeland ranked second with 21%. Polymarket, the gambling site that accurately predicted the U.S. presidency, has Carney’s odds of winning at ~70%.
- Both Carney and Freeland will reportedly run on ending the consumer carbon tax, thus recognizing its unpopularity and neutralizing it as a Conservative talking point.
- Sources told The Canadian Press that Freeland will pledge to impose dollar-for-dollar tariffs on the U.S. (read: hitting them with the same tariffs they’re hitting us with).
What’s next: The Liberals select their new leader on March 9, with the winner taking office as prime minister when Parliament resumes on March 24. A vote of non-confidence will likely pass shortly thereafter, triggering an election unless the NDP has a change of heart and votes to keep the government. In that case, an election must happen by the fall.—QH