OTTAWA – Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is bowing out of the race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader — making her the second cabinet minister to choose their current job over a chance to become prime minister.
Joly said that while she’s ready to become the first female leader of the Liberal party, she’s not willing to leave her cabinet posting at a “crucial time” for Canada-U. S. relations.
“The reality is, I can’t do both,” she told reporters on Parliament Hill on Friday morning.
Joly made the comments today heading into a Canada-U. S. cabinet committee meeting called to discuss retaliatory measures Ottawa is preparing in the event incoming U.S. president Donald Trump follows through on his threat to slam Canada with stiff tariffs.
“We will be ready and I’ll do my job,” Joly said, adding that she will be headed back to Washington next week.
Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc dashed the hopes of many of his caucus mates Wednesday by becoming the first potential cabinet aspirant to rule out a leadership bid. Judy Sgro and other Liberal MPs have asked him to change his mind, saying he would add to the race as a strong candidate.
The party leadership race is fully underway now that the party has set a date for the vote. More big-name candidates are expected to announce soon whether they intend to run or sit this one out.
Leadership hopefuls only have until Jan. 23 to declare and must pay a $350,000 fee to enter the race, which is set to conclude on March 9.
That leaves them just two weeks to make up their minds on whether to mount a campaign to replace Trudeau.
Anticipation has been building for months over whether former central banker Mark Carney, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland and former B.C. premier Christy Clark will throw their hats in the ring.
A host of other current cabinet ministers considering bids will also have to make up their minds, including Karina Gould, François-Philippe Champagne, Jonathan Wilkinson, Anita Anand and Steven MacKinnon.
Ontario Liberal MP Chandra Arya and former Montreal MP Frank Baylis are the only two candidates to officially declare they are in the race so far.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2025.
