Key Lessons from Canada’s Liberal Leadership Debates Unveiled

After two consecutive debates in both English and French, the candidates vying to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the leader of the Liberal Party in Canada have made their pitch to voters. Card-carrying Liberals will soon choose between four individuals: former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, House government leader Karina Gould, and businessman Frank Baylis. The winner of this vote on March 9th will become the next prime minister and lead the Liberal Party into an upcoming general election that must be held no later than October 20th.

A major focus throughout these debates has been how Canada should respond to President Donald Trump, who has threatened substantial tariffs against Canada. He has also suggested that Canada could become the “51st state,” a notion met with widespread alarm and anger among Canadians. Freeland, having served during Trump’s first term as Finance Minister of Canada, positioned herself as an experienced negotiator who successfully opposed previous US tariffs.

However, Carney emphasized that today’s Trump is more isolationist and aggressive compared to his earlier stance of wanting access to Canadian markets. Gould advocated for putting everything on the table to protect sovereignty and helping businesses diversify away from reliance on the United States. Baylis suggested forging closer economic ties with the UK, New Zealand, and Australia.

The economy has been another critical topic in these debates. Trump’s threats come at a time when Canada is grappling with high living costs, as evidenced by public frustrations over this issue. Carney promised to balance the country’s operational budget within three years while also defending key Liberal programs like affordable childcare and dental care.

Freeland defended her record of maintaining strong finances during Trump’s presidency but suggested that Canadians’ patriotism should be harnessed to support domestic industries and promote job growth. Baylis highlighted the need for improving productivity, Gould advocated for realistic expectations regarding budget balancing within a reasonable timeframe, and emphasized modernizing the social safety net to assist those in difficulty.

The Liberal leadership hopefuls often united against Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party leads in the polls as likely winners. They frequently criticized him during debates, calling him variously similar to Trump or irresponsible. Carney warned that Canada could “not afford” having Poilievre as prime minister.

Poilievre has shifted his message from criticizing Trudeau’s broken leadership towards positioning himself with “Canada First,” particularly in light of the looming election after Trudeau’s resignation.

In terms of international commitments, all candidates affirmed their support for Ukraine and Canada meeting its 2% military spending target to NATO. However, they differed on timelines and methods for achieving these targets. Freeland advocated hitting this goal by 2027 with a focus on modern warfare technology investment; Baylis and Carney set it at 2030.

Regarding climate policy, the carbon tax has proven unpopular in Canada under Trudeau’s leadership. Both Carney and Freeland vowed to replace this consumer-facing carbon tax with policies focusing instead on taxing large polluters and boosting clean energy projects within the country.

Gould and Baylis supported retaining some form of a consumer-facing carbon tax while acknowledging it comes at a price for fighting climate change.