Six of the seven Liberal leadership candidates who have filed nomination papers have been approved by their party to compete to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Former central banker Mark Carney, former finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrisstia Freeland, Nova Scotia MP Jaime Batiste, former government House of Commons leader Karina Gould, and former Brampton, Ont., Liberal MP Ruby. – Dara was informed on Monday that they could run in the race.
Former Montreal Liberal MP Frank Bayliss, who initially entered the race, had his candidate endorsed by the party on Monday.
Although the candidates have been confirmed by the Liberal Party, they still have to be confirmed in Elections Canada.
This news comes a day after Nepean MP Chandra Arya said the party told him he would not be allowed to run in the contest.
Arya was the first sitting MP to launch a leadership campaign, vowing to abandon the monarchy if elected. He also said he doesn’t speak French and doesn’t believe it matters to French-speaking Canadians. The suburban Ottawa MP was elected in 2015 and has been a backbencher ever since.
Under rules set by the party, candidates had until 5 p.m. last Thursday to submit nomination packages containing the signatures of 300 registered Liberals, including at least 100 from three different states or territories. , including a $50,000 refundable deposit.
Accepted candidates will be required to post admission fees totaling $350,000 made in four or more installments between January 23rd and February 17th.
As the race barrels toward the March 9 vote, candidates’ policies are shrinking, but no one has outlined their full platforms.
Carney, Freeland secures most support
Carney and Freeland are considered the two front runners in the race to succeed Trudeau and have secured the most caucus support to date.
On Thursday, Carney, a former Bank of Canada governor, released a campaign video against conservative leader Pierre Poilliable. Opposition parties have been critical of Carney for years and have stepped up their attacks since he began his campaign.
“I can’t stand Trump when you’re working from his playbook,” Carney said in the video.
“[Poilievre] He’s been a politician all his life, and all that time he hasn’t fixed things. he just complains. ”
Campaign sources said Wednesday that Freeland would scrap capital gains tax changes he introduced as finance minister.
This is the second major Liberal policy Freeland has taken away from her bid to become the next Liberal leader and prime minister. Freeland would remove the consumer carbon tax if she wins.
Last week, Freeland promised to shake up the party’s constitution to develop a leadership review process. This is a swipe at Trudeau. The prime minister faced calls from the caucus to resign last year, but they were left with no mechanism to force him.
“I can never again be in a position where I’m the only person deciding who the leaders are,” she said last week.
“I think the grassroots members of the Liberal Party and the caucus need to have a greater say in what we do and how we do it.”
