Liberal leadership contest takes shape as major players tap in
Global News
The experienced hand who can fix the economy. The tough negotiator who can take on a Donald Trump White House. The millennial long-hauler who can rebuild the party.
The experienced hand who can fix the economy. The tough negotiator who can take on a Donald Trump White House. The millennial long-hauler who can rebuild the party.
That’s how candidates competing for Justin Trudeau’s job as Liberal leader are attempting to define themselves to stand out from the pack.
The race heated up on Saturday as Government House leader Karina Gould became the youngest candidate to throw her hat in the ring, saying the party needs a “new generation of leadership.”
She and rival candidate Chrystia Freeland released duelling campaign videos arguing why they’re best placed to lead the party into the next election.
“Canadians have lost faith in our party and we have to earn back their trust,” the 37-year-old Gould said, adding she’s the best person to rebuild the damaged party brand.
Her video came fast on the heels of one that Freeland’s camp released, where the former finance minister bills herself as the best person to lead Canada’s fight against incoming U.S. president Trump, saying she’s taken him on before — and won.
In the video posted to social media, Freeland said she was a “tough negotiator” in talks to overhaul Canada’s most important trade deal, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and that Trump doesn’t like her “very much” because Canada won that battle.
“Donald Trump and his billionaire buddies think they can push us around,” she said over images of Trump on stage at a rally with Elon Musk. “Trump thinks we’re for sale — that he can take what isn’t his. We’re not gonna let him.”
