Canada Liberal Party To Choose New Leader To Replace Trudeau As PM

AFP/APP

Ottawa: Voting closed Sunday in the race to lead Canada’s Liberal Party, with a former central banker and political novice favored to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Mark Carney, who served as the governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, is the front-runner to be named Liberal leader when results are announced, likely before 7:00 pm (2300 GMT).

Voting closed at 3:00 pm after 151,899 party members cast ballots, the Liberal party said.

Carney has racked up endorsements, including from much of Trudeau’s cabinet and more than half of Liberals in parliament.

His main challenger is Trudeau’s former deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, who held several senior cabinet positions in the Liberal government that was first elected in 2015.

A Freeland win would be a surprise for the party as it heads towards an election that must be held by October, but could come within weeks.

The new Liberal leader will become prime minister in the coming days, turning the page on the Trudeau era, but they may not have the job for long, with current polls putting the Conservatives as slight favorites to win the upcoming vote.