By David Ljunggren

(Reuters) – Canada’s ruling Liberal Party is seeking a new leader to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced on Jan. 6 his intention to step down.

The Liberal Party will elect a new chief on March 9.

Former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland declared her candidacy on Friday. Former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney announced his bid on Thursday.

Top Contenders

Former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland

Freeland, 56, was one of Trudeau’s closest allies during his nine years in office and was serving as finance minister. She unexpectedly resigned in December following a dispute over spending, penning a letter criticizing the prime minister’s leadership and penchant for “political gimmicks.”

Freeland, the most prominent government member after Trudeau, had been finance minister since August 2020, contributing to the government’s multi-billion-dollar social spending program aimed at combating the pandemic. She was previously the foreign minister and led Canada’s negotiations to successfully renegotiate a trilateral trade deal with the United States and Mexico after then-President Donald Trump threatened to abandon it.

Joining the government in November 2015, Freeland first served as trade minister. Before her political career, she worked as a journalist, holding senior editorial roles at several media companies, including the Financial Times, the Globe and Mail, and Reuters from 2010 to 2013. Freeland is also an author of two books.

Former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney

Carney, 59, is the only major candidate not associated with the Trudeau government. His name has been in circulation for years as a potential Liberal leader, mainly due to his financial expertise. Launching his leadership bid on Thursday, he presented himself as an outsider to Trudeau’s unpopular government, focusing on the struggling economy.

Prior to his political career, Carney worked for Goldman Sachs and joined the Canadian finance ministry in 2004. He became the Bank of Canada governor in 2007 and faced the global financial crisis’s fallout in 2008. In 2013, Carney took over as the governor of the Bank of England, being the first to head two significant central banks.

Carney warned about the economic repercussions of Brexit, facing backlash from pro-Brexit supporters. After leaving the Bank of England in 2020, he became the UN special envoy for climate action and finance. He stepped down from his role as vice-chairman at Brookfield Asset Management (TSX:BAM) to campaign.

House Leader Karina Gould

Gould, 37, aims to become the first female leader of the Liberal Party. Entering Parliament in 2015, she was appointed minister of democratic institutions in January 2017, becoming the youngest-ever female cabinet minister at age 29. Although she advanced some voting reforms, her ministry was dissolved following the 2019 election, leading her to the comparatively lesser-known foreign aid ministry. She also made history as the first federal cabinet minister to take maternity leave after giving birth in 2018. In 2021, she became the minister of families, and in 2023, she was appointed the Liberals’ House of Commons leader.

Other Candidates

Three additional individuals have announced their intention to participate but have minimal chances of winning: backbench legislators Chandra Arya and Jaime Battiste as well as former Member of Parliament Frank Baylis.