OTTAWA – Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland will announce her intention to run for the Liberal party leadership just before the U.S. presidential inauguration, a source close to her campaign team says.
Freeland’s first policy promise will be to impose dollar-for-dollar tariffs on U.S. imports to match the cost of tariffs U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has vowed to impose on Canada.
Trump has promised to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico on Jan. 20, the day he is inaugurated.
Freeland resigned from cabinet in December days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau informed her he would be replacing her as finance minister with former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
In her resignation letter, she indicated she had policy disagreements with Trudeau — including over the GST holiday, which she referred to as gimmicky politics the country could ill afford.
The Liberals will choose their new leader on March 9.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2025.
