OTTAWA: Canada’s Liberal Party looked set on Sunday to choose a candidate to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as it confronts threats from US President Donald Trump.
The next prime minister will have to negotiate with US President Donald Trump as he threatens additional tariffs on Canada and may soon face the opposition Conservatives in a general election.
Trudeau announced in January he would step down after more than nine years in power as his approval rating plummeted, forcing the ruling Liberal Party to run a quick contest to replace him.
Former central banker and political novice Mark Carney who served as the governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, is widely expected to be named the new Liberal leader when results from a vote of around 400,000 party members are announced later on Sunday.
The other main challenger is Trudeau’s former deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, who held several senior cabinet positions in the Liberal government that was first elected in 2015.
Whoever wins the vote will take over from Trudeau as prime minister, but will soon face a general election that polls currently show the rival Conservative Party as slight favorites to win.
Carney has racked up endorsements, including from much of Trudeau’s cabinet, and a Freeland win would be a shock for the Liberals as they head towards a general election.
Despite dramatically breaking with the prime minister in December, analysts say voters still tie Freeland to Trudeau’s unpopular record.
Carney and Freeland have both maintained that they are the best candidate to defend Canada against Trump’s attacks.
The US president has repeatedly spoken about annexing Canada and thrown bilateral trade, the lifeblood of the Canadian economy, into chaos with dizzying tariff actions that have veered in various directions since he took office.
A victory for Carney, 59, would be the first time an outsider with no real political background has become Canadian prime minister.
Carney has said his experience as the first person to serve as the governor of two central banks — Canada and England — meant he was the best candidate to deal with Trump.
Some 400,000 Liberal members were eligible to cast their votes for party leader. The party is due to announce the first round of results at about 6:30pm (2230 GMT).
During the campaign, Carney said he supported dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs against the United States and a coordinated strategy to boost investment. He has repeatedly complained that Canada’s growth under Trudeau was not good enough.
The prospect of a fresh start for the Liberal Party under Carney, combined with Trump’s tariffs and his repeated taunts to annex Canada as the 51st US state, led to a remarkable revival of Liberal fortunes.
Regardless of who wins, the next prime minister has important decisions to make right away. The minority Liberal government may face a confidence vote when Parliament reconvenes at the end of March, potentially triggering an election.
He or she may therefore decide to call an immediate election, avoiding the trouble of having to put together a cabinet. An election must be called no later than October 20.
