The four candidates vying to be the next Liberal leader and prime minister are making the case that they’re best suited to handle relations with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Canada-U.S. relations was the first topic of discussion as the four contenders to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are squaring off in the Liberal Party’s French-language debate. It comes just hours after hours after Trump said he will go forward with a 25 per cent tariff on most imports from Canada next week.
Former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland argued she has handled Trump in the past and can do it again. Freeland was the lead minister during the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) negotiations during Trump’s first term.
“This is not the first time Mr. Trump is threatening us with tariffs … we responded with counter-tariffs, dollar-for-dollar, and at the end of the day we won,” she said.
“Our response has to be intelligent and if we remain united, we will win. I know how to do that.”
Liberal leadership candidates Chrystia Freeland and Mark Carney pitch themselves as the best option to handle future negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump during the Liberal leadership French-language debate on Monday night.
Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney rebutted by saying Trump is a different beast than he was during his first four years in the White House.
“He’s more aggressive. In the past he wanted our markets. Now he wants our country,” Carney said in reference to Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st state.
Carney said the focus should instead be on fostering Canada’s economy by removing trade barriers between provinces.
- You can watch CBC News special coverage of Liberal leadership candidates’ French-language debate on CBC News Network, CBC.ca and CBC Gem starting at 7:45 p.m. ET. CBC’s Rosemary Barton and David Cochrane will provide analysis and cover the post-debate scrums. CBC News will stream the debate with English interpretation. You can also watch in French on Radio-Canada’s website.
Karina Gould and Frank Baylis both pointed to their past experiences — as the former government House leader and a successful businessman, respectively — to handle the Trump relationship.
“What the president does respect is strength and I know how to respond to people I don’t agree with,” Gould said, referring to her taking on the Conservatives in the House.
“I’ve already negotiated hundreds of contracts with Americans and from time-to-time I’ve seen Mr. Trump’s character at work and I know how to deal with him,” Baylis said.
Carney came into the debate as the perceived front-runner, having locked up the most donations and caucus endorsements, but questions swirled about his French proficiency.
Carney had a noticeable slip up fairly early on during a segment on Gaza. In an attempt to say he agreed with previous comments on Hamas, he accidentally said “we all agree with Hamas.” Freeland quickly jumped in to correct the former central banker.
All four contenders cleared their final financial hurdle last week and will be on the ballot to replace Trudeau.
On Saturday morning, the Liberal Party released the topics for the debate. In addition to Canada-U.S. relations, the candidates are discussing growing the economy, protecting the environment while securing Canada’s energy future, affordability, housing, health care and other issues.
Candidates were given 90 seconds off the top to make an opening statement.
Baylis, arguably the candidate with the lowest public profile, kicked things off by introducing himself to voters by citing his past experience as an engineer and talking up his business chops.
The former MP presented himself as a man with a plan and cited his top three priorities should he win the leadership: building a strong economy, improving health care and modernizing government.
“I recognize that collectively we’re facing important challenges. Having said that, I’m very optimistic for the future,” he said.
Gould used her opening time to present herself as someone who comes from a middle-class family and understands Canadian’s concerns about the cost of living. She also positioned herself as being able to take on “our version of Trump here in Canada” in reference to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
“I decided to go into politics to help my fellow Canadians … our adversaries say that Canada is broken. But we know that this is a wonderful country,” she said.
Freeland focused on the Trump issue right off the bat, reciting an anecdote about a young girl asking her about stopping the U.S. president from “invading our country.”
“Trump represents the greatest threat to Canada since the Second World War,” she said.
“We need a leader who understands the seriousness of these challenges and how to face them … I will fight for us. I will fight for Canada.”
Carney focused much of his opening message on the economic issues and suggested his past experience as a central banker makes him the best person to grow Canada’s economy.
“I know how to build a strong economy. There is a lot of uncertainty and in a crisis there are a lot of things you can’t control. But you have to focus on the things you can control,” he said.
“We are the masters of our own house and I know we can control our own economic destiny.”
Dhalla disqualified
A fifth would-be candidate, Ruby Dhalla had been billing herself as the true outsider in the race. She was set to be a limited participant in the first debate after the party denied her request for a French interpreter.
On Friday, a Liberal Party committee voted to disqualify her as a candidate for violating the race’s rules. Dhalla appealed that decision but the party announced Monday it is upholding her disqualification.
“This evening, after an exchange of written submissions and an oral hearing, the Liberal Party of Canada’s Permanent Appeals Committee confirmed the decision of the Leadership Vote Committee to disqualify Dr. Ruby Dhalla from the 2025 Liberal leadership race,” a news release from the party said.
“The party will have no further comment on this matter at this time.”
Monday’s debate will be followed by an English-language debate on Tuesday. The debates will be the only time all four candidates share a stage before Liberals elect their new leader on March 9.
