OTTAWA — Now that former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney and former finance minister Chrystia Freeland have entered, expect the Liberal leadership race to focus squarely on the party’s economic backbone—or lack of one. 

The winner will become the next prime minister, at least for a short time, before leading the party into an election that polls suggest they’ll lose.

Here’s what you need to know:

Setting the tone

Carney launched his campaign Thursday with a speech to supporters in his hometown of Edmonton, where he pitched his economic credentials and the advantage of being a banker rather than a politician.

That same day he resigned as chair of Brookfield Asset Management, board member for the payments company Stripe and a host of other executive and advisory positions. 

Freeland took a more restrained approach, issuing a single-sentence statement on social media: “I’m running to fight for Canada.” Her official campaign kickoff is expected Sunday, but she set the tone with an op-ed in the Toronto Star describing the aggressive approach she believes the government needs to take against U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats. 

Friends turned political foes

Carney has cast himself as a party “outsider,” and “not the usual suspect when it comes to politics.”

He has certainly dabbled, though. In September he signed on to advise Prime Minister Trudeau and help shape Liberal economic policy as head of a one-man task force. At the time, Freeland said Carney had been advising her on economic policy since she became finance minister. The two are longtime friends—Carney is even the godfather to Freeland’s son. 

Freeland is now fresh off her shock resignation as both finance minister and deputy prime minister, when she accused Trudeau of using “costly political gimmicks” to win votes and criticized his fiscal and economic vision for the country. Trudeau reportedly planned to give her finance role to Carney. 

Their resumes

Carney

• Bank of Canada governor during the 2007 financial crisis
• Bank of England governor during the Brexit referendum
• Chair of Brookfield Asset Management
• UN special envoy on climate action and finance 

Freeland

• Trudeau’s right hand, and occasionally his heat shield
• As foreign minister, led trade negotiations with the previous Trump administration
• Steered Canada’s finances through the COVID-19 pandemic
• Author, speaker and former journalist, including deputy editor of The Globe and Mail 

What are they pitching?

The next leader will have little time to celebrate before waging an election with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. That means their policies in the leadership race will form the basis of the next Liberal platform. 

Both Carney and Freeland are reportedly ready to scrap the consumer carbon tax, a signature Liberal environmental policy that has become deeply unpopular. Both had previously championed the tax as an efficient way to lower emissions without leaving Canadians out of pocket. 

Carney’s kickoff speech centred on his intention to get Canada’s economy “back on track.” The Liberals’ economic policy has been criticized since they came to power, but problems came to a head after the pandemic amid high inflation, growing deficits and Trump’s sudden threats of massive tariffs on exports to the U.S. 

Freeland, meanwhile, dedicated the first day of her campaign to Trump, and outlined an aggressive plan to “counterpunch” new U.S. tariffs dollar-for-dollar in a “precisely and painfully targeted” way in her Star op-ed.

In their words

“If you wonder why I can succeed where others have failed, or will fall short, consider this: I’ve helped manage multiple crises, and I’ve helped save two economies.” 

— Carney at his campaign launch

“Now is the time for us to be strong, united and smart. Being strong means being clear with our American neighbours: we love our country just as much as you love yours. If you hit us, we will hit back. We will not escalate, but we will never back down.” 

— Freeland in her op-ed

Who else will run

Liberal House leader Karina Gould is also set to join the race, according to reports. That would make her the youngest candidate, at 37. In addition to facing Poilievre in the House of Commons, Gould led negotiations with provinces and territories to launch the Liberals’ child-care program. 

Nova Scotia Liberal MP Jaime Battiste has said he wants to run, and Ottawa MP Chandra Arya and former Montreal MP and businessman Frank Baylis have also signalled their intention to run.