Liberals will choose a new leader. Who are the possible candidates to replace Trudeau?

Insiders and outsiders have signalled interest in running for Liberal leadership

Derek Vanderwyk, Darren Major · CBC News

Top Liberals will soon be lining up for the party’s — and country’s — top job after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he will be resigning.

After weeks of intensified calls from his own Liberal MPs, Trudeau announced Monday he would be stepping down as soon as the party picks a new leader.

LIVE

• Trudeau says he’s not the right choice to lead party in next election, promises to resign as PM
• How will replacing Trudeau work? Breaking down a Liberal leadership contest
• Political rivals, colleagues and potential successors react to Trudeau’s resignation

Potential candidates will soon be making public pitches as to why they’re best positioned to succeed Trudeau. Some have already begun sending subtle — and not so subtle — signals about their interest in the top job.

Here are some of the names frequently discussed as possible successors.

Following Justin Trudeau’s announcement that he’ll be stepping down as prime minister once a new Liberal Party leader has been chosen, the discussion is now shifting to who might replace him. Catherine Cullen, host of CBC Radio’s The House, discusses some of the potential leadership candidates.

Chrystia Freeland

Chrystia Freeland, whose resignation from cabinet last month escalated the push for Trudeau to step down, is being floated as a potential successor to lead the Liberals. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Former finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland triggered a wave of calls for Trudeau’s resignation when she resigned from cabinet on Dec. 16.

Later that day, she received a standing ovation at an emergency caucus meeting.

In an email to supporters and former staffers the next day, she also reignited rumours about her ambitions to succeed him: “this will not be the end of the road!”

Since then, a small number of the Liberal MPs opposing Trudeau have either expressed hopes that Freeland will run for the leadership or flat-out declared their support for her. Liberals also lined up to take pictures with her at the party’s holiday party.

Chrystia Freeland pegged by some Liberal MPs as Justin Trudeau’s successor if he resigns

B.C. MP Ken Hardie told CBC’s Power & Politics in December that “to parachute somebody in from the outside is a recipe for the kind of disasters that we’ve seen in the last three byelections.”

“Ms. Freeland, particularly because of the skill with which she dealt with Donald Trump in Trump 1.0, is clearly the one that I would choose to take the fight back to him again. She’s smart. She knows the drill with him.”

New Brunswick Liberal MP Wayne Long tells Power & Politics some cabinet ministers have agreed privately that Justin Trudeau should step down as party leader, and he’s encouraging them to go public. B.C. Liberal MP Ken Hardie says Chrystia Freeland is best suited to replace Trudeau.

Ontario MP Chandra Arya also told the program that, “by design or by circumstance, her time of resignation has put her into the spotlight. And she appears to be the person around whom the caucus members can rally behind.”

After Trudeau’s announcement on Monday, Freeland offered a brief thank you message to the prime minister.

“I thank Justin Trudeau for his years of service to Canada and Canadians. I wish him and his family the very best,” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Mark Carney

Mark Carney, who has been head of both the Bank of Canada and Bank of England, has not ruled out running to lead the Liberals. (Andrew Lee/CBC)

Members of the Liberal Party tried to court then-Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney to run for the leadership in 2012.

Instead, Carney compounded his financial credentials as governor of the Bank of England the next year.

Mark Carney named Bank of England governor

Carney is now orbiting the party again. He addressed a Liberal convention in 2021, and accepted a position as special adviser to the party in September, becoming chair of a task force on economic growth.

Even then, he sidestepped questions about his leadership ambitions: “I’m interested in doing something, not being something.”

As questions about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s leadership hover over a caucus retreat, the Liberals announced former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is joining the party as an economic adviser.

Multiple high-level Liberal sources told CBC News in December that Trudeau and his senior advisers were making ongoing efforts to recruit Carney to cabinet.

A Liberal source also told Radio-Canada that on the Friday before Freeland’s resignation from cabinet, Trudeau told her via Zoom that Carney would replace her as finance minister.

Some Liberal MPs repeat calls for Trudeau to quit after Freeland debacle, but he still has defenders

After Freeland’s resignation, Dominic LeBlanc took the file. He said Trudeau told him he would keep the position “until the next election.”

Carney did not receive a cabinet role in Trudeau’s Dec. 20 shuffle.

In a post on X on Monday, Carney thanked Trudeau for his “contributions to Canada, and for the sacrifices you and your family have made for public service.”

Carney has been speaking with a number of MPs since Boxing Day about a potential leadership bid, according to a source close to the former bank governor.

Dominic LeBlanc 

Dominic LeBlanc took over as finance minister after Freeland’s resignation, and has held several high-profile cabinet positions. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)

LeBlanc has run for the Liberal leadership before. He dropped out of the race in 2008, endorsing eventual victor Michael Ignatieff.

LeBlanc also chose not to run against Trudeau in 2013.

Over a decade later, he’s now minister of both finance and intergovernmental affairs, and is coming off of a high-profile term in public safety where he grappled with Trump’s border demands.

He even accompanied Trudeau to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

LeBlanc accompanied Trudeau for dinner with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump at his Florida resort on Nov. 29. (@DaveMcCormickPA/X)

John Manley, former finance minister and deputy prime minister under Jean Chrétien, told BNN Bloomberg in December that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Liberal party executives asked Leblanc to take the party into the next election.

A source close to LeBlanc who has knowledge of his leadership plans told CBC News that it is “very likely” the minister will put himself forward as a potential candidate. LeBlanc has the support of “dozens” of Liberal MPs, according to the source.

Mélanie Joly

Mélanie Joly was featured in a New York Times piece last year that framed her as a potential successor to Trudeau. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

The headline of the New York Times December profile of Mélanie Joly became a story in itself: “Tapped by Trudeau to Steer Foreign Affairs, She’s Now His Possible Successor.”

The piece declared her a “top contender to replace Justin Trudeau.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre attacked Trudeau over the profile, writing on X that he’s “so weak. His foreign affairs minister launches her leadership bid to replace him in the New York Times.”

Joly gave the interview in July, just weeks after the party lost the Toronto-St. Paul’s byelection — long considered a Liberal stronghold. That loss triggered early questions about Trudeau’s leadership.

When confronted about the profile on Power & Politics, Joly said that “of course the prime minister can count on my support,” and denied that it was presented to her as an interview about her leadership ambitions.

“We were approached by the New York Times, and so we did the interview. Period.”

Anita Anand

Anita Anand’s rise through cabinet has been seen by some analysts as evidence of leadership ambitions. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Anita Anand was first named to cabinet in 2019 and has held several portfolios since then. Initially given the typically low-profile role of procurement minister, she quickly rose to prominence in that position during the pandemic when acquiring vaccines and personal protective equipment became a priority for the government.

The Ontario MP was later promoted to defence minister in 2021, holding the file during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine the next year.

She also moved military sexual misconduct cases into civilian courts amid a sexual assault crisis in the Armed Forces.

Anand’s star minister status drove speculation about her leadership aspirations, and her personal website still features a 2022 Maclean’s article that says she’s among the “obvious possible leadership contenders” after Trudeau.

Trudeau’s 2023 shuffling of Anand to president of the Treasury Board caused rumours of a demotion.

But Anand quickly found a way to grab headlines in the new position, sending a letter that gave cabinet colleagues months to find $15.4 billion in cuts over the next five years. She also took on the dual role of transport minister after Pablo Rodriguez’s resignation in September

Public sector union warns of ‘rushed’ plans to cut federal spending

“Chrystia Freeland is a good friend,” Anand said after Freeland’s resignation. “This news has hit me really hard and I’ll reserve further comment until I have time to process it.”

Four days later, she emerged from a cabinet swearing-in ceremony where she swapped treasury for a new “internal trade” file and declared her support for Trudeau.

Christy Clark

Former B.C. premier Christy Clark did not rule out running for the federal Conservatives, but now says she wants to be part of the conversation to find a new Liberal leader. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

Former B.C. premier Christy Clark once faced questions about running for the Conservative leadership, refusing to rule out the possibility in an interview with Power & Politics in 2019.

Last October, she released a statement saying she “would like to be part of the discussion about the future direction of the Liberal Party and the country.”

Clark’s critics have previously pointed to her limited French as a barrier to entering federal politics.

But sources tell Radio-Canada that Clark has been taking French lessons.

In late December, she posted a pair of two holiday videos on social media — one in each official language.

In early January, Clark also attacked the Conservatives on X, suggesting they want to “turn back the clock” on abortion. She promoted the Liberal candidate running in Poilievre’s Carleton riding in Ottawa.

Clark thanked Trudeau Monday in a post on X, but indicated that his resignation was an opportunity for the Liberal party.

“I look forward to joining tens of thousands of Canadians to choose our next leader. This is the biggest opportunity in over a decade that we’ve had to grow our party and welcome new Liberals — including Canadians concerned about the future of our country,” she wrote.

François-Philippe Champagne

François-Philippe Champagne has long been rumoured to be a potential successor to Trudeau. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)

François-Philippe Champagne has been a prominent member of Trudeau’s front bench since 2018, holding a number of cabinet portfolios. He was previously minister of infrastructure and foreign affairs, but has served as minister of science and innovation since 2021.

Considered one of the most energetic members of cabinet, his name has long been rumoured as a potential successor to Trudeau — though he was also previously floated as a possible contender for the leader of the Quebec Liberal Party.

In October, as a group of MPs rallied to push Trudeau out, Champagne told reporters that those dissenters should be heard out.

“There’s certainly issues that we need to address. We’re going to address them in caucus,” Champagne told reporters at the time. “I think the best thing we can do now as a team is listen to our colleagues. I think there’s a moment for us to listen, to understand the concerns.”

As calls for Trudeau’s resignation within caucus intensified in the wake of Freeland’s resignation last month, Champagne said the main focus should be on preparing Canada for expected tariff fight with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to slap a levy on all goods coming into the U.S. shortly after he takes office.

Champagne thanked Trudeau on Monday in a post on X.

“From helping Canadians in times of need to reshaping our country’s industrial landscape and seizing generational opportunities, Canada can look forward to the future with confidence,” he wrote.

Jonathan Wilkinson

Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson is working on his own leadership campaign, a source told CBC News. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson is organizing a leadership bid, one source has told CBC News.

The B.C. MP was elected when the Liberals won in 2015 and has been part of Trudeau’s cabinet since 2018. Wilkinson was previously environment minister and fisheries minister before taking on the natural resources portfolio.

Wilkinson has been a vocal defender of the Liberals’ carbon tax in the face of increasing criticism from Conservatives and premiers who oppose the policy.

Karina Gould

Some Liberals are encouraging House Leader Karina Gould to run for leadership, sources told CBC News. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

A number of MPs and Liberal party brass are encouraging government House Leader Karina Gould to run for the leadership, two of her advisers have told CBC News.

As the Liberals’ point person in the House of Commons, Gould was tasked with trying to manage what has been a tumultuous parliamentary sitting this past fall.

The Ontario MP has held a number of cabinet positions in Trudeau’s government and was the first minister in Canadian history to take a maternity leave.

Frank Baylis

Former Liberal MP Frank Baylis speaks in the House of Commons on June 14, 2019. Baylis told CBC News earlier this summer that he was considering a Liberal leadership bid. (Parliament of Canada)

Following the Liberals’ defeat in Toronto-St. Paul’s, former MP Frank Baylis told CBC News in June that he would consider a bid to replace Trudeau.

“A number of people are asking me to think about this, and I’m taking their request seriously,” Baylis said at the time.

Baylis represented Pierrefonds-Dollard, another riding considered one of the safest in the country for the Liberals, in Montreal’s West Island, from 2015 to 2019 when he stepped down.

He is the executive chair of Baylis Medical Tech, a company he sold to a larger American firm, Boston Scientific, for $1.75 billion US in 2022.